Light-Emitting Element, Light-Emitting Device, Electronic Device, and Lighting Device

ABSTRACT

Objects of the present invention are to provide: a light-emitting element having a long lifetime and good emission efficiency and drive voltage. One embodiment of the invention is a light-emitting element including, between an anode and a cathode, at least a stack structure in which a first layer, a second layer, and a light-emitting layer are provided in order from the anode side. The first layer includes a first organic compound and an electron-accepting compound. The second layer includes a second organic compound having a HOMO level differing from the HOMO level of the first organic compound by from −0.2 eV to +0.2 eV. The light-emitting layer includes a third organic compound having a HOMO level differing from the HOMO level of the second organic compound by from −0.2 eV to +0.2 eV and a light-emitting substance having a hole-trapping property with respect to the third organic compound.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/183,838, filed Nov. 8, 2018, now pending, which is a continuation ofU.S. application Ser. No. 15/630,340, filed Jun. 22, 2017, now U.S. Pat.No. 10,756,287, which is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.13/941,827, filed Jul. 15, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,698,354, which is adivisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/956,326, filed Nov. 30, 2010,now U.S. Pat. No. 8,486,543, which claims the benefit of a foreignpriority application filed in Japan as Serial No. 2009-273987 on Dec. 1,2009, all of which are incorporated by reference.

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a light-emitting element, alight-emitting device, an electronic device, and a lighting device.

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

In recent years, research and development have been extensivelyconducted on light-emitting elements using electroluminescence (EL). Inthe basic structure of such a light-emitting element, a layer whichcontains a substance having a light-emitting property is interposedbetween a pair of electrodes. By voltage application to this element,the substance having a light-emitting property can emit light.

Since such light-emitting elements are self-luminous elements, they haveadvantages over liquid crystal displays in having high visibility ofpixels and eliminating the need for a backlight, for example, therebybeing considered as suitable for flat panel display elements. Also,above-described light-emitting elements have an advantage in that theycan be thin and lightweight, and also have a feature of very high speedresponse.

Furthermore, since such light-emitting elements can be formed in a filmform, they make it easy to provide planar light emission, therebyachieving large-area elements utilizing planar light emission. Such afeature is difficult to obtain with point light sources typified byincandescent lamps and LEDs or linear light sources typified byfluorescent lamps. Thus, light-emitting elements can be very effectivelyused as planar light sources applicable to lightings and the like.

Light-emitting elements using electroluminescence are broadly classifiedaccording to whether they use an organic compound or an inorganiccompound as a substance having a light-emitting property.

In the case where the substance having a light-emitting property is anorganic compound, voltage application to a light-emitting elementenables injection of holes from an anode and electrons from a cathodeinto a layer containing the organic compound having a light-emittingproperty, so that a current flows. Then, the carriers (electrons andholes) recombine, whereby the organic compound having a light-emittingproperty is brought into an excited state. When the excited statereturns to a ground state, light is emitted. In general, an organic ELelement refers to such a light-emitting element which uses an organiccompound having a light-emitting property and can be excited with acurrent.

Excited states of organic compounds can be a singlet state and a tripletstate. The ground state of organic compounds that are generally used fororganic EL elements is a singlet state. Light emission from a singletexcited state is called fluorescence, while that from a triplet excitedstate is called phosphorescence.

Proposal of a heterostructure in which layers of different organiccompounds are stacked has brought about significant development of suchlight-emitting elements (see Non-Patent Document 1). That is becauseadopting a heterostructure increases carrier recombination efficiencyand then improves emission efficiency. In Non-Patent Document 1, ahole-transport layer and a light-emitting layer having anelectron-transport property are stacked.

Further, considerable researches have been conducted on correlation ofthe heterostructure with drive voltage or with lifetime. For example, itwas reported that, in an element having a hole-transport layer incontact with an anode, the ionization potential of the hole-transportlayer affects the lifetime (see Non-Patent Document 2). The elementdisclosed in Non-Patent Document 2 can have a longer lifetime as theionization potential of the hole-transport layer decreases. It was alsoreported that the lifetime of an element is extended by providing ahole-injection layer having a low ionization potential between an anodeand a hole-transport layer (see Non-Patent Documents 3 and 4).

REFERENCES Non-Patent Documents

-   [Non-Patent Document 1] C. W. Tang et al., Applied Physics Letters,    Vol. 51, No. 12, pp. 913-915, 1987.-   [Non-Patent Document 2] Chihaya Adachi et al., Applied Physics    Letters, Vol. 66, No. 20, pp. 2679-2681, 1995.-   [Non-Patent Document 3] Yasuhiko Shirota et al., Applied Physics    Letters, Vol. 65, No. 7, pp. 807-809, 1994.-   [Non-Patent Document 4] S. A. Van Slyke et al., Applied Physics    Letters, Vol. 69, No. 15, pp. 2160-2162, 1996.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to Non-Patent Documents 2 to 4, the ionization potential(i.e., HOMO level) of an organic material in a hole-injection layer incontact with an anode is preferably a level that is as close as possibleto the work function of the anode. Hence, in the case of alight-emitting element having a stack of a hole-injection layer, ahole-transport layer, and a light-emitting layer, the element isdesigned such that the work function of an anode and the HOMO levels ofthe hole-injection layer, the hole-transport layer, and thelight-emitting layer have a stepped shape, as illustrated in FIG. 2 inNon-Patent Document 3. In other words, materials of the hole-injectionlayer and the hole-transport layer are selected such that the workfunction of the anode and the HOMO levels of the hole-injection layer,the hole-transport layer and the light-emitting layer are arranged inorder of slightly decreasing from the work function of the anode to theHOMO level of the light-emitting layer.

Such a design of the stepped shape has been regarded as the standarddesign of an organic EL element so far. On the basis of the aboveelement design, various materials of a hole-injection layer, ahole-transport layer, and a light-emitting layer have been studied tofind the material combination that realizes the most improved lifetimeor efficiency. This has been the current of the development of organicEL elements and is still the mainstream.

However, the above design causes difficulty with an increasingdifference between the work function of an anode and the HOMO level of alight-emitting layer. This is because a reduction in hole-injectionbarrier between the anode and light-emitting layer needs many steps ofHOMO levels, i.e., needs a large number of layers to be interposedbetween the anode and the light-emitting layer. Such an element is notpractical. Two layers at the most, a hole-injection layer and ahole-transport layer, are included in a light-emitting element usually.

Therefore, a hole-injection barrier between a hole-injection layer and ahole-transport layer or between a hole-transport layer and alight-emitting layer is able to be reduced but difficult tosubstantially remove. As regards light-emitting elements that emits bluelight or phosphorescence-emitting elements in particular, the energy gapof a material (especially the host material) of a light-emitting layeris large, and its HOMO level tends to be considerably low accordingly.This increases the difference between the work function of the anode andthe HOMO level of the light-emitting layer, causing a largehole-injection barrier. In many cases, the hole-injection barrierbetween a hole-transport layer and a light-emitting layer tends to belarge.

The present inventors have found that such hole-injection barriers arenow becoming a problem to lifetime, through improvements in the materialand structure of a light-emitting layer. To be more precise, theinventors recognized that, although a light-emitting layer was a factorof limiting lifetime when Non-Patent Documents 2 to 4 were published,these days when a light-emitting layer is being improved, ahole-injection barrier in the design of a stepped shape is increasinglyproblematic.

Further, adopting a conventional heterostructure ensures emissionefficiency but may increase or significantly decrease lifetime dependingon the adopted heterostructure (kinds of the materials). The cause ofthis phenomenon has not been identified. Thus, such a phenomenon tendsto be attributed to merely affinity between materials at present, and aprinciple in material combination is yet to be established.

Consequently, by designing an element which is unlike a conventionalheterostructure, the present inventors have attempted to produce a longlifetime light-emitting element without adversely affecting drivevoltage and emission efficiency. The inventors have also conducteddetailed researches into material combinations in designing such anelement.

Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide a light-emittingelement having a long lifetime. Another object is to provide alight-emitting element with good emission efficiency and drive voltage.

Still another object is to provide a light-emitting device having a longlifetime and low power consumption by using the light-emitting elementof the present invention, and also an electronic device and a lightingdevice having a long lifetime and low power consumption.

First, the present inventors have found an element structure wherehole-injection barriers between the layers from an anode to alight-emitting layer are substantially removed. The inventors have foundthrough the further detailed studies that, in such an element structure,a substance having a hole-trapping property as a light-emittingsubstance is added to a light-emitting layer thereby achieving theobjects.

One embodiment of the present invention is therefore a light-emittingelement including, between an anode and a cathode, at least a stackstructure in which a first layer, a second layer, and a light-emittinglayer are provided in this order from the anode side. The first layerincludes a first organic compound and an electron-accepting compound.The second layer includes a second organic compound having a HOMO leveldiffering from a HOMO level of the first organic compound by greaterthan or equal to −0.2 eV and less than or equal to +0.2 eV. Thelight-emitting layer includes a third organic compound having a HOMOlevel differing from the HOMO level of the second organic compound bygreater than or equal to −0.2 eV and less than or equal to +0.2 eV and alight-emitting substance having a hole-trapping property with respect tothe third organic compound.

In this specification, an “anode” means an electrode releasing holes anda “cathode” means an electrode receiving holes released from an anode.Also, a “cathode” means an electrode releasing electrons and an “anode”means an electrode receiving electrons released from an anode.

Hole-transport skeletons of organic compounds used for thehole-injection layer, the hole-transport layer, and the light-emittinglayer are preferably the same. One embodiment of the present inventionis therefore a light-emitting element including, between an anode and acathode, at least a stack structure in which a first layer, a secondlayer, and a light-emitting layer are provided in this order from theanode side. The first layer includes a first organic compound having afirst hole-transport skeleton and an electron-accepting compound. Thesecond layer includes a second organic compound having a secondhole-transport skeleton. The light-emitting layer includes a thirdorganic compound having a third hole-transport skeleton and alight-emitting substance having a hole-trapping property with respect tothe third organic compound. The first hole-transport skeleton, thesecond hole-transport skeleton, and the third hole-transport skeletonare the same.

Here, the present inventors have found that, when particular skeletonsare applied to the hole-transport skeletons of organic compounds usedfor the hole-injection layer, the hole-transport layer, and thelight-emitting layer, hole-injection barriers between the layers arereduced. Furthermore, by addition of an electron-accepting compound tothe hole-injection layer, the hole-injection barrier between the anodeand the hole-injection layer can also be reduced. One embodiment of thepresent invention is therefore a light-emitting element including,between an anode and a cathode, at least a stack structure in which afirst layer, a second layer, and a light-emitting layer are provided inthis order from the anode side. The first layer includes a first organiccompound having a first hole-transport skeleton and anelectron-accepting compound. The second layer includes a second organiccompound having a second hole-transport skeleton. The light-emittinglayer includes a third organic compound having a third hole-transportskeleton and a light-emitting substance having a hole-trapping propertywith respect to the third organic compound. The first hole-transportskeleton, the second hole-transport skeleton, and the thirdhole-transport skeleton each separately include a skeleton of at leastany one of a n excessive heteroaromatic ring, a tricyclic condensedaromatic hydrocarbon ring, and a tetracyclic condensed aromatichydrocarbon ring.

The hole-transport skeleton is preferably a skeleton of at least any oneof carbazole, dibenzofuran, dibenzothiophene, and anthracene.

Further, even when any particular one of the above-described skeletonsis used as the hole-transport skeletons, the hole-transport skeletons ofthe organic compounds used for the hole-injection, hole-transport, andlight-emitting layers are preferably the same. One embodiment of thepresent invention is therefore a light-emitting element including,between an anode and a cathode, at least a stack structure in which afirst layer, a second layer, and a light-emitting layer are provided inthis order from the anode side. The first layer includes a first organiccompound having a first hole-transport skeleton and anelectron-accepting compound. The second layer includes a second organiccompound having the first hole-transport skeleton. The light-emittinglayer includes a third organic compound having the first hole-transportskeleton and a light-emitting substance having a hole-trapping propertywith respect to the third organic compound. The first hole-transportskeleton includes a skeleton of at least any one of a n excessiveheteroaromatic ring, a tricyclic condensed aromatic ring, and atetracyclic condensed aromatic ring.

The hole-transport skeleton is preferably a skeleton of at least any oneof carbazole, dibenzofuran, dibenzothiophene, and anthracene.

In the above structures of a light-emitting element, the light-emittingsubstance is preferably an aromatic amine compound or an organometalliccomplex, because they each have a high hole-trapping property. Inparticular, a pyrene diamine compound or an iridium complex ispreferable because they each have not only a high hole-trapping propertybut also high emission efficiency.

The present inventors have found that, in the above-describedlight-emitting element of one embodiment of the present invention,provision of another light-emitting layer that meets particularconditions further suppresses the phenomenon in which holes pass to thecathode, thereby significantly improving both a lifetime and emissionefficiency. One embodiment of the present invention is therefore alight-emitting element including, between an anode and a cathode, atleast a stack structure in which a first layer, a second layer, a firstlight-emitting layer, and a second light-emitting layer are provided inthis order from the anode side. The first layer includes a first organiccompound and an electron-accepting compound. The second layer includes asecond organic compound having a HOMO level differing from a HOMO levelof the first organic compound by greater than or equal to −0.2 eV andless than or equal to +0.2 eV. The first light-emitting layer includes athird organic compound having a HOMO level differing from the HOMO levelof the second organic compound by greater than or equal to −0.2 eV andless than or equal to +0.2 eV and a first light-emitting substancehaving a hole-trapping property with respect to the third organiccompound. The second light-emitting layer includes: a fourth organiccompound having a HOMO level differing from the HOMO level of the thirdorganic compound by greater than or equal to −0.2 eV and less than orequal to +0.2 eV and having a LUMO level differing from a LUMO level ofthe third organic compound by greater than or equal to −0.2 eV and lessthan or equal to +0.2 eV; and a second light-emitting substance having ahole-trapping property with respect to the fourth organic compound. Thefourth organic compound and the third organic compound are differentcompounds.

In this specification, “holes pass to the cathode” refers to thephenomenon in which holes injected from the anode pass to the cathodeside without recombining with electrons.

Hole-transport skeletons of organic compounds used for thehole-injection layer, the hole-transport layer, the first light-emittinglayer, and the second light-emitting layer are preferably the same.Moreover, electron-transport skeletons of the first and secondlight-emitting layers are preferably the same. One embodiment of thepresent invention is therefore a light-emitting element including,between an anode and a cathode, at least a stack structure in which afirst layer, a second layer, a first light-emitting layer, and a secondlight-emitting layer are provided in this order from the anode side. Thefirst layer includes a first organic compound having a firsthole-transport skeleton and an electron-accepting compound. The secondlayer includes a second organic compound having a second hole-transportskeleton. The first light-emitting layer includes: a third organiccompound having a third hole-transport skeleton and anelectron-transport skeleton; and a first light-emitting substance havinga hole-trapping property with respect to the third organic compound. Thesecond light-emitting layer includes: a fourth organic compound having afourth hole-transport skeleton and the electron-transport skeleton; anda second light-emitting substance having a hole-trapping property withrespect to the fourth organic compound. The fourth organic compound andthe third organic compound are different compounds. The firsthole-transport skeleton, the second hole-transport skeleton, the thirdhole-transport skeleton, and the fourth hole-transport skeleton are thesame.

Here, the present inventors have found that, when particular skeletonsare applied to hole-transport skeletons of organic compounds used forthe hole-injection layer, the hole-transport layer, the firstlight-emitting layer, and the second light-emitting layer,hole-injection barriers between the layers are reduced. Furthermore, byaddition of an electron-accepting compound to the hole-injection layer,the hole-injection barrier between the anode and the hole-injectionlayer can also be reduced. One embodiment of the present invention istherefore a light-emitting element including, between an anode and acathode, at least a stack structure in which a first layer, a secondlayer, a first light-emitting layer, and a second light-emitting layerare provided in this order from the anode side. The first layer includesa first organic compound having a first hole-transport skeleton and anelectron-accepting compound. The second layer includes a second organiccompound having a second hole-transport skeleton. The firstlight-emitting layer includes: a third organic compound having a thirdhole-transport skeleton and an electron-transport skeleton; and a firstlight-emitting substance having a hole-trapping property with respect tothe third organic compound. The second light-emitting layer includes: afourth organic compound having a fourth hole-transport skeleton and theelectron-transport skeleton; and a second light-emitting substancehaving a hole-trapping property with respect to the fourth organiccompound. The fourth organic compound and the third organic compound aredifferent compounds. The first hole-transport skeleton, the secondhole-transport skeleton, the third hole-transport skeleton, and thefourth hole-transport skeleton each separately include a skeleton of atleast any one of a n excessive heteroaromatic ring, a tricycliccondensed aromatic ring, and a tetracyclic condensed aromatic ring.

The hole-transport skeleton is preferably a skeleton of at least any oneof carbazole, dibenzofuran, dibenzothiophene, and anthracene.

Further, even when any particular one of the above-described skeletonsis used as the hole-transport skeletons, the hole-transport skeletons ofthe organic compounds used for the hole-injection, hole-transport, firstlight-emitting, and second light-emitting layers are preferably thesame. One embodiment of the present invention is therefore alight-emitting element including, between an anode and a cathode, atleast a stack structure in which a first layer, a second layer, a firstlight-emitting layer, and a second light-emitting layer are provided inthis order from the anode side. The first layer includes a first organiccompound having a first hole-transport skeleton and anelectron-accepting compound. The second layer includes a second organiccompound having the first hole-transport skeleton. The firstlight-emitting layer includes: a third organic compound having the firsthole-transport skeleton and an electron-transport skeleton; and a firstlight-emitting substance having a hole-trapping property with respect tothe third organic compound. The second light-emitting layer includes: afourth organic compound having the first hole-transport skeleton and theelectron-transport skeleton; and a second light-emitting substancehaving a hole-trapping property with respect to the fourth organiccompound. The fourth organic compound and the third organic compound aredifferent compounds. The first hole-transport skeleton includes askeleton of at least any one of a π excessive heteroaromatic ring, atricyclic condensed aromatic ring, and a tetracyclic condensed aromaticring.

The hole-transport skeleton is preferably a skeleton of at least any oneof carbazole, dibenzofuran, dibenzothiophene, and anthracene.

Here, for higher carrier recombination efficiency in the structureincluding the first and second light-emitting layers as described above,it is preferable that the hole-transport property of the firstlight-emitting layer be higher than that of the second light-emittinglayer, and the electron-transport property of the first light-emittinglayer be lower than that of the second light-emitting layer.

Preferably, the first light-emitting substance and the secondlight-emitting substance are each separately an aromatic amine compoundor an organometallic complex, because they have a high hole-trappingproperty. In particular, a pyrene diamine compound or an iridium complexis preferable because they have not only a high hole-trapping propertybut also high emission efficiency.

One embodiment of the present invention covers the structure where thefirst light-emitting substance and the second light-emitting substanceare the same, because such a structure gives an effect of the presentinvention.

A feature of the above-described light-emitting element is that thehole-injection layer is formed using an organic compound having a HOMOlevel close to that of the light-emitting layer, i.e., an organiccompound having a HOMO level which is greatly deeper than in aconventional light-emitting element. One embodiment of the presentinvention is therefore a light-emitting element including the firstorganic compound having a HOMO level greater than or equal to −6.0 eVand less than or equal to −5.7 eV.

In the above-described light-emitting element, a plurality of stackstructures (where the first layer, the second layer, and thelight-emitting layer are provided, or where the first layer, the secondlayer, the first light-emitting layer, and the second light-emittinglayer are provided) may be provided between the anode and the cathode.

One embodiment of the present invention is therefore a light-emittingelement including, between an anode and a cathode, at least a stackstructure in which a first layer, a second layer, and a light-emittinglayer are provided in this order from the anode side. The first layerincludes a first organic compound and an electron-accepting compound.The second layer includes a second organic compound having a HOMO leveldiffering from a HOMO level of the first organic compound by greaterthan or equal to −0.2 eV and less than or equal to +0.2 eV. Thelight-emitting layer includes a third organic compound having a HOMOlevel differing from the HOMO level of the second organic compound bygreater than or equal to −0.2 eV and less than or equal to +0.2 eV, alight-emitting substance having a hole-trapping property with respect tothe third organic compound, and a substance having a light-emittingproperty.

The light-emitting element includes the substance having alight-emitting property having excitation energy lower than or equal tothat of the light-emitting substance having a hole-trapping property.

The above-described light-emitting element of one embodiment of thepresent invention has effectiveness such as its applicability to avariety of light-emitting devices. The present invention therefore alsoincludes a light-emitting device using the above-describedlight-emitting element which is one embodiment of the present invention.Note that in this specification, the light-emitting device means animage display device, a light-emitting device, or a light source.Further, the category of the light-emitting device of the presentinvention includes a module including a light-emitting element, to whicha connector such as a flexible printed circuit (FPC) or a tape automatedbonding (TAB) tape such as an anisotropic conductive film or a tapecarrier package (TCP) is attached; a module in which an end of aconnector is provided with a printed wiring board; and a module in whichan integrated circuit (IC) is directly mounted on a substrate providedwith a light-emitting element by a chip on glass (COG) method.

The above-described light-emitting device which is one embodiment of thepresent invention has effectiveness such as its applicability to displayportions, light-emitting portions, light sources, and the like of avariety of electronic devices. The present invention therefore alsoincludes an electronic device having the light-emitting device which isone embodiment of the present invention.

The above light-emitting device which is one embodiment of the presentinvention has effectiveness in a variety of lighting devices such aslight sources. Thus, the present invention also includes a lightingdevice using the above-described light-emitting device which is oneembodiment of the present invention.

By applying the present invention, it is possible to provide alight-emitting element having a long lifetime and also provide alight-emitting element having excellent emission efficiency and drivevoltage.

Further, it is possible to provide a light-emitting device having a longlifetime and low power consumption, and an electronic device and alighting device having a long lifetime and low power consumption.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate a light-emitting element according toEmbodiment.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate a conventional light-emitting element.

FIG. 3 illustrates a light-emitting element according to Embodiment.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate a light-emitting element according toEmbodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates a light-emitting element according to Example.

FIGS. 6A to 6C illustrate a compound used for a light-emitting elementaccording to Embodiment.

FIGS. 7A to 7C illustrate a compound used for a light-emitting elementaccording to Embodiment.

FIGS. 8A to 8C illustrate a compound used for a light-emitting elementaccording to Embodiment.

FIGS. 9A to 9C illustrate a compound used for a light-emitting elementaccording to Embodiment.

FIGS. 10A to 10C illustrate a compound used for a light-emitting elementaccording to Embodiment.

FIGS. 11A to 11C illustrate a compound used for a light-emitting elementaccording to Embodiment.

FIGS. 12A to 12C illustrate a compound used for a light-emitting elementaccording to Embodiment.

FIGS. 13A to 13C illustrate a compound used for a light-emitting elementaccording to Embodiment.

FIGS. 14A to 14C illustrate a compound used for a light-emitting elementaccording to Embodiment.

FIGS. 15A and 15B each illustrate a light-emitting element according toEmbodiment.

FIG. 16 is a diagram for describing compounds used for light-emittingelements according to Example.

FIGS. 17A and 17B are diagrams for describing light-emitting elementsaccording to Example.

FIG. 18 is a diagram for describing light-emitting elements according toExample.

FIG. 19 is a diagram for describing light-emitting elements according toExample.

FIGS. 20A and 20B are diagrams for describing light-emitting elementsaccording to Example.

FIGS. 21A and 21B am diagrams for describing light-emitting elementsaccording to Example.

FIGS. 22A and 22B are diagrams for describing a light-emitting elementaccording to Example.

FIG. 23 is a diagram for describing a light-emitting element accordingto Example.

FIG. 24 is a diagram for describing a light-emitting element accordingto Example.

FIG. 25 is a diagram for describing a light-emitting element accordingto Example.

FIGS. 26A to 26D illustrate a light-emitting device according toEmbodiment.

FIG. 27 illustrates a light-emitting device according to Embodiment.

FIGS. 28A and 28B illustrate a display device according to Embodiment.

FIGS. 29A to 29E each illustrate an electronic device according toEmbodiment.

FIG. 30 illustrates lighting devices according to Embodiment.

FIG. 31 illustrates a display device according to Embodiment.

FIG. 32 is a diagram for describing a light-emitting element accordingto Example.

FIG. 33 is a diagram for describing a light-emitting element accordingto Example.

FIG. 34 is a diagram for describing a light-emitting element accordingto Example.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detailusing the accompanying drawings. Note that the invention is not limitedto the description below, and it will be easily understood by thoseskilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore,the invention should not be construed as being limited to thedescription in the following embodiments.

In this specification, when Substance A is dispersed in a matrix formedof Substance B, Substance B forming the matrix is called a host materialand Substance A dispersed in the matrix is called a guest material. Notethat Substance A and Substance B may be separately a single substance ora mixture of two or more kinds of substances.

Further, in this specification, the “HOMO level” means a level of thehighest occupied molecular orbital, and the “LUMO level” means a levelof the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital.

Note that in this specification, “having a high HOMO level or a highLUMO level” means having a high energy level, and “having a low HOMOlevel or a low LUMO level” means having a low energy level. For example,it can be said that Substance A having a HOMO level of −5.5 eV has alower HOMO level by 0.3 eV than Substance B having a HOMO level of −5.2eV and has a higher HOMO level by 0.2 eV than Substance C having a HOMOlevel of −5.7 eV.

Embodiment 1

Embodiment 1 will provide descriptions of a structure of alight-emitting element which is one embodiment of the present inventionreferring to a material to be used and a fabrication method. InEmbodiment 1, a region interposed between an anode and a cathode iscalled an EL layer.

First, FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate respectively a conceptual elementstructure and its band diagram of the light-emitting element of oneembodiment of the present invention. For comparison, FIGS. 2A and 2Billustrate respectively a conceptual element structure and its banddiagram of a conventional light-emitting element.

FIG. 2A illustrates the element structure of the conventionallight-emitting element as described in, for instance, Non-PatentDocument 3, which has an EL layer 203 provided between an anode 201 anda cathode 202. The EL layer 203 has a stack structure where ahole-injection layer 211, a hole-transport layer 212, and alight-emitting layer 221 are provided in order from the anode 201.

According to a conventional assumption, it has been consideredpreferable that a HOMO level 233 of the hole-injection layer 211 incontact with the anode 201 be a level as close as possible to a workfunction 231 of the anode 201, as illustrated in FIG. 2B. Hence, theHOMO level 233 of the hole-injection layer, a HOMO level 234 of thehole-transport layer, and a HOMO level 235 of the light-emitting layerare designed to have a stepped shape in order of decreasing HOMO level.Holes can transport through these HOMO levels and, in the light-emittinglayer 221, recombine with electrons injected from the cathode 202,whereby light is emitted. Note that reference numeral 232 denotes thework function of the cathode.

With the increasing energy gap of a material (especially the hostmaterial) of the light-emitting layer, the HOMO level 235 of thelight-emitting layer tends to decrease. In that case, there is a largedifference between the work function 231 of the anode and the HOMO level235 of the light-emitting layer. Thus, in the conventionallight-emitting element, a hole-injection barrier is very large at leasteither between the HOMO level 233 of the hole-injection layer and theHOMO level 234 of the hole-transport layer or between the HOMO level 234of the hole-transport layer and the HOMO level 235 of the light-emittinglayer. In many cases, the hole-injection barrier between thehole-transport layer 212 and the light-emitting layer 221 tends to belarge.

Further, with a conventional light-emitting element, it has beenconsidered important that such a hole-injection barrier is ratherutilized in order to accumulate holes and prevent them from passing tothe cathode, thereby obtaining high emission efficiency. A means forpreventing holes from passing to the cathode which is under thoroughconsideration is the provision of a hole-blocking layer which generatesa large hole-injection barrier between the light-emitting layer and thecathode, for example. Such use of a barrier for higher emissionefficiency is the original concept in a conventional light-emittingelement that has a heterostructure.

However, the present inventors have recognized such hole-injectionbarriers as becoming a problem to lifetime as described above, leadingto this invention. FIG. 1A illustrates the conceptual element structureof a light-emitting element of one embodiment of the present invention,and an EL layer 103 is provided between an anode 101 and a cathode 102.The EL layer 103 at least has a stack structure where a first layer 111,a second layer 112, and a light-emitting layer 121 are provided in orderfrom the anode 101. Further, the first layer 111 contains a firstorganic compound and an electron-accepting compound. The second layer112 contains a second organic compound. The light-emitting layer 121contains a third organic compound and a light-emitting substance havinga hole-trapping property with respect to the third organic compound.

First, the present inventors have considered substantially equalizing aHOMO level 133 of the first organic compound in the first layer and aHOMO level 134 of the second organic compound in the second layer, asillustrated in FIG. 1B. Similarly, the inventors have consideredsubstantially equalizing the HOMO level 134 of the second organiccompound in the second layer and a HOMO level 135 of the third organiccompound in light-emitting layer. Hence, hole-injection barriers betweenthe first layer 111 and the second layer 112 and between the secondlayer 112 and the light-emitting layer 121 are each extremely reduced.

In this specification, the HOMO levels that are substantially equalizedmean, specifically, HOMO levels that differ from each other by greaterthan or equal to −0.2 eV and less than or equal to +0.2 eV. This isbecause electrochemical reaction energies differing by 0.2 eV or lesscan be regarded as roughly the same electrochemical reaction energy;usually, in the case where the electrochemical reaction energydifference between two kinds of substances is 0.2 eV or less, both twotypes of electrochemical reactions occur (on the other hand, if thedifference greatly exceeds 0.2 eV, only one type of electrochemicalreaction occurs selectively). The experiment described later in Examplealso shows that an effect of the invention can be obtained with a HOMOlevel difference greater than or equal to −0.2 eV and less than or equalto +0.2 eV. A HOMO level difference greater than or equal to −0.1 eV andless than or equal to +0.1 eV is further preferable to achieve an effectof the invention to a higher extent.

With the increasing energy gap of the third organic compound in thelight-emitting layer 121, the HOMO level 135 of the third organiccompound tends to decrease. Therefore, when the above structure reducesthe hole-injection barriers between the first layer 111 and the secondlayer 112 and between the second layer 112 and the light-emitting layer121, all the HOMO levels of the first, second, and third organiccompounds become significantly lower than the work function 131 of theanode. Accordingly, a large hole-injection barrier is formed between thework function 131 of the anode and the HOMO level 133 of the firstorganic compound, which hampers hole injection from the anode 101 to thefirst layer 111.

Accordingly, as a solution to this barrier at the anode interface, thepresent inventors have considered adding the electron-accepting compoundto the first layer 111. By the addition of the electron-acceptingcompound to the first layer 111, holes are injected smoothly even whenthere is a gap between the work function 131 of the anode and the HOMOlevel 133 of the first organic compound included in the first layer 111;thus, the hole-injection barrier is substantially removed. As the firstlayer 111, the electron-accepting compound and the first organiccompound may be combined, or may be layered in order from the anode.

The above-described structure substantially removes hole-injectionbarriers between the layers from the anode to the light-emitting layerwhich have been problematic in a conventional element. However, it hasbeen found that merely adopting such a structure causes holes to easilypass to the cathode, leading to lower emission efficiency. It has beenalso found that the structure causes an electron-transport layer to emitlight in the case where it is provided between the light-emitting layer121 and the cathode 102.

In order to prevent holes from passing to the cathode without using abarrier (a block to holes), adding a substance having a hole-trappingproperty is effective. The present inventors have thoroughly examinedthe kinds of the substance having a hole-trapping property and a regionwhere the substance is to be added. The inventors have accordingly foundthat, by making a light-emitting substance added to a light-emittinglayer have a hole-trapping property, the above problem can be solvedwithout increasing drive voltage. In order that holes be trapped by thelight-emitting substance, the third organic compound and thelight-emitting substance having a hole-trapping property are preferablya host material and a guest material, respectively. Further, a HOMOlevel 136 of the light-emitting substance having a hole-trappingproperty is preferably higher than the HOMO level 135 of the thirdorganic compound by 0.3 eV or more in view of the above-describedelectrochemical selectivity.

Merely preventing holes from passing to the cathode for higher emissionefficiency can be achieved also by adding a material for trapping holesbetween the anode 101 and the light-emitting layer 121. However, such atechnique reduces the speed of hole transport until holes reach thelight-emitting layer 121 to emit light, thereby inevitably increasingdrive voltage. Further, a carrier recombination region might approachthe anode to cause electrons to pass to the anode, thereby loweringemission efficiency. In contrast, in the structure of one embodiment ofthe present invention illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B, holes aretransported from the anode 101 to the light-emitting layer 121 withoutinfluence of a barrier or a trap, and accordingly the drive voltageincrease can be minimized. In short, it is preferable that a materialhaving a hole-trapping property be not added to the second layer.

Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 1B, the holes that reach thelight-emitting layer 121 are trapped at the HOMO level 136 of thelight-emitting substance having a hole-trapping property, and the holessuddenly reduce their moving speed in the light-emitting layer 121.Then, these holes reducing their moving speed and electrons injectedfrom the cathode 102 recombine efficiently, resulting in highlyefficient light emission. In FIG. 1B, reference numeral 132 denotes thework function of the cathode. Further, electrons need to be transportedsufficiently in the light-emitting layer 121 in terms of drive voltage.It is preferable, therefore, that the third organic compound which isthe host material of the light-emitting layer 121 have not only ahole-transport property but also an electron-transport property. Thatis, the third organic compound is preferably a bipolar material.

In this specification, the “bipolar material” means a material that iscapable of injecting holes (reaction in which electrons are taken away)and injecting electrons (reaction in which electrons are received) in anEL layer, relatively stable in each reaction, and capable oftransporting both holes and electrons sufficiently.

As described above, what is important in the light-emitting element ofone embodiment of the present invention is that holes are smoothlytransported from the anode to the light-emitting layer withoutencountering a barrier or a trap and the holes reduce their moving speedin the light-emitting layer without using a barrier thereby leading tohighly efficient recombination. Avoiding use of a barrier makes itdifficult to cause a phenomenon in which accumulation or concentrationof holes or electrons on a small region (the vicinity of the barrier)occurs to promote deterioration, whereby it is possible to contribute toa longer lifetime. Further, there is no substantial hole-injectionbarrier or hole trap between the layers from the anode to thelight-emitting layer, and accordingly, drive voltage can be lowered.Furthermore, since the light-emitting substance having a hole-trappingproperty is used for the light-emitting layer to reduce the speed ofhole transport not outside but inside the light-emitting layer, holesand electrons can efficiently recombine even without using a barrier;thus, a light-emitting element having high emission efficiency as wellas a long lifetime can be realized. Moreover, since holes are trapped bythe light-emitting substance itself which has a hole-trapping property,holes and electrons can efficiently recombine; thus, a light-emittingelement having high emission efficiency can be achieved.

In view of the above, the light-emitting layer 121 preferably has alower hole-transport property than the second layer 112. To make thehole-transport property of the light-emitting layer 121 lower than thatof the second layer 112, for instance, the second organic compound andthe third organic compound may be the same compound. By such atechnique, the light-emitting layer 121 has a lower hole-transportproperty than the second layer 112 because the light-emitting layer 121includes the light-emitting substance having a hole-trapping property.

On the basis of the above points, concepts and specific examples ofmaterials applicable to the first, second, and third organic compoundswill be described below.

As described above, one of the points of the present invention is tosubstantially remove the hole-injection barriers between the first andsecond organic compounds and between the second and third organiccompounds. As one technique therefor, the present inventors haveproposed that hole-transport skeletons of the first, second, and thirdorganic compounds be the same.

The “hole-transport skeleton” means a part or the whole of a skeleton ofa compound where the HOMO is distributed. Distribution of the HOMO canbe found by molecular orbital calculations. When the hole-transportskeletons of the compounds (the first, second, and third organiccompounds in Embodiment 1) are the same, the HOMO levels of thecompounds are close to one another, whereby electrochemical barriersbetween the compounds are reduced.

Specific examples of the hole-transport skeleton will be described withreference to FIGS. 6A to 6C, FIGS. 7A to 7C, FIGS. 8A to 8C, FIGS. 9A to9C, FIGS. 10A to 10C, FIGS. 11A to 11C, FIGS. 12A to 12C, FIGS. 13A to13C, and FIGS. 14A to 14C. These figures relate to the compounds: FIGS.6A to 6C relates to 9-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole(abbreviation: CzPA); FIGS. 7A to 7C,3-phenyl-9-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole (abbreviation:CzPAP); FIGS. 8A to 8C,9-phenyl-3-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole (abbreviation:PCzPA); FIGS. 9A to 9C,4-[3-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)phenyl]dibenzofuran (abbreviation:2mPDBFPA-II); FIGS. 10A to 10C,4-[4-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)phenyl]dibenzofuran (abbreviation:2PDBFPA-II); FIGS. 11A to 11C,4-[3-(triphenylen-2-yl)phenyl]dibenzothiophene (abbreviation:mDBTPTp-II); FIGS. 12A to 12C,9-[4-(5-phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole (abbreviation:CO11); FIGS. 13A to 13C,9-[4′″-(5-phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)-[1,1′:2′,1″:2″,1′″]quaterphenyl-4-yl]-9H-carbazole(abbreviation: Z-CzPO11); and FIGS. 14A to 14C,9-[4′″-(benzoxazol-2-yl)-[1,1′:2′,1″:2″,1′″]quaterphenyl-4-yl]-9H-carbazole(abbreviation: Z-CzPBOx). FIG. 6A, FIG. 7A, FIG. 8A, FIG. 9A, FIG. 10A,FIG. 11A, FIG. 12A, FIG. 13A, and FIG. 14A each illustrate the chemicalformula. FIGS. 6B and 6C, FIGS. 7B and 7C, FIGS. 8B and 8C, FIGS. 9B and9C, FIGS. 10B and 10C, FIGS. 11B and 11C, FIGS. 12B and 12C, FIGS. 13Band 13C, and FIGS. 14B and 14C illustrate the highest occupied molecularorbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) which arerendered visible by molecular orbital calculations.

The molecular orbital calculations were carried out by the followingsteps. First, the optimal molecular structure of each compound in theground state was calculated using the density functional theory (DFT).In the DFT, the total energy was represented as the sum of potentialenergy, electrostatic energy between electrons, electronic kineticenergy, and exchange-correlation energy including all the complicatedinteractions between electrons. Also in the DFT, an exchange-correlationinteraction was approximated by a functional (i.e., a function ofanother function) of one electron potential represented in terms ofelectron density to enable high-speed and highly-accurate calculations.Here, B3LYP, which is a hybrid functional, was used to specify theweight of each parameter related to exchange-correlation energy. Inaddition, as a basis function, 6-311 (a basis function of a triple-splitvalence basis set using three contraction functions for each valenceorbital) was applied to all the atoms. By the above basis function, forexample, orbitals of 1s to 3s were considered in the case of hydrogenatoms while orbitals of is to 4s and 2p to 4p were considered in thecase of carbon atoms. Furthermore, to improve calculation accuracy, thep function and the d function as polarization basis sets were addedrespectively to hydrogen atoms and atoms other than hydrogen atoms. Notethat Gaussian 03 was used as a quantum chemistry computational program.A high performance computer (manufactured by SGI Japan, Ltd., Altix4700) was used for the calculations.

The calculated HOMO and LUMO in the optimal molecular structures of thecompounds which are made visible by Gauss View 4.1 are illustrated inFIGS. 6B and 6C, FIGS. 7B and 7C, FIGS. 8B and 8C, FIGS. 9B and 9C,FIGS. 10B and 10C, FIGS. 11B and 11C, FIGS. 12B and 12C, FIGS. 13B and13C, and FIGS. 14B and 14C. In these figures, the spheres representatoms forming each compound, and the cloud-like objects around the atomsrepresent the HOMO or LUMO. According to these figures, the skeletonwhere a HOMO exists can be regarded as a hole-transport skeleton.

As illustrated in FIGS. 6A to 6C, FIGS. 7A to 7C, and FIGS. 8A to 8C,CzPA, CzPAP and PCzPA are each a compound in which an anthraceneskeleton and a carbazole skeleton are combined. In CzPA and PCzPA, theHOMO is distributed over the anthracene skeleton, and the anthraceneskeleton can therefore be considered as a hole-transport skeleton. Onthe other hand, in CzPAP, the HOMO is distributed mainly around theanthracene skeleton while the carbazole skeleton makes a slightcontribution to the HOMO. Both the anthracene skeleton and the carbazoleskeleton can therefore be considered as hole-transport skeletons (notethat the contribution by the anthracene skeleton is larger).

As illustrated in FIGS. 9A to 9C and FIGS. 10A to 10C, 2mPDBFPA-II and2PDBFPA-II are each a compound in which an anthracene skeleton and adibenzofuran skeleton are combined. In 2mPDBFPA-II, the HOMO isdistributed around the anthracene skeleton, and the anthracene skeletoncan therefore be considered as a hole-transport skeleton. On the otherhand, in 2PDBFPA-II, the HOMO is distributed mainly over the anthraceneskeleton while the dibenzofuran skeleton makes a little contribution tothe HOMO. Both the anthracene skeleton and the dibenzofuran skeleton cantherefore be considered as hole-transport skeletons (note that thecontribution by the anthracene skeleton is larger).

As illustrated in FIGS. 11A to 11C, mDBTPTp-II is a compound in which atriphenylene skeleton and a dibenzothiophene skeleton are combined. InmDBTPTp-II, the HOMO is distributed around both the triphenyleneskeleton and the dibenzothiophene skeleton, and both these skeletons cantherefore be considered as hole-transport skeletons (both contribute totheir respective HOMOs to the same degree).

As illustrated in FIGS. 12A to 12C and FIGS. 13A to 13C, CO11 andZ-CzPO11 are each a compound in which a 1,3,4-oxadiazole skeleton and acarbazole skeleton are combined. In each compound, the HOMO is localizedaround the carbazole skeleton, and the carbazole skeleton can thereforebe considered as a hole-transport skeleton.

As illustrated in FIGS. 14A to 14C, Z-CzPBOx is a compound in which abenzoxazole skeleton and a carbazole skeleton are combined. In Z-CzPBOx,the HOMO is localized around the carbazole skeleton, and the carbazoleskeleton can therefore be considered as a hole-transport skeleton.

As described above, the hole-transport skeleton can be estimated bymolecular orbital calculations. According to one embodiment of thepresent invention, the first, second, and third organic compounds havethe same hole-transport skeleton.

The hole-transport skeleton is preferably a skeleton having a highelectron-donating property; typically, an aromatic amine skeleton iswell known. Alternatively, a n excessive heteroaromatic ring or acondensed aromatic hydrocarbon ring is effective. Note that the “nexcessive heteroaromatic ring” means a monohetero five-membered aromaticring (e.g., pyrrole, furan, or thiophene) or a skeleton having amonohetero five-membered aromatic ring obtained by ring-fusing of anaromatic ring (typically, a benzene ring).

Further, the present inventors have found the following combination as atechnique for reducing the hole-injection barriers between the first andsecond organic compounds and between the second and third organiccompounds. Namely, the technique provides the structure where thehole-transport skeleton of the first organic compound (firsthole-transport skeleton), that of the second organic compound (secondhole-transport skeleton), and that of the third organic compound (thirdhole-transport skeleton) each separately include a skeleton of at leastone of a n excessive heteroaromatic ring, a tricyclic condensed aromatichydrocarbon ring, and a tetracyclic condensed aromatic hydrocarbon ring.The present inventors have found experimentally that the hole-injectionbarriers can be substantially removed in this case even if the first,second, and third hole-transport skeletons are different from oneanother. Thus, one embodiment of the present invention covers such acombination as well.

Specific examples of the n excessive heteroaromatic ring includeskeletons of pyrrole, furan, thiophene, indole, isoindole, benzofuran,isobenzofuran, benzothiophene, isobenzothiophene, carbazole,dibenzofuran, and dibenzothiophene. Further, as the tricyclic condensedaromatic hydrocarbon ring and the tetracyclic condensed aromatichydrocarbon ring, the skeleton of any one of phenanthrene, anthracene,pyrene, chrysene, and triphenylene is specifically given.

In particular, the hole-transport skeleton preferably includes theskeleton of at least any one of carbazole, dibenzofuran,dibenzothiophene and anthracene. This is because these skeletons notonly solve a problem of the hole-injection barrier but also have veryhigh electrochemical stability and also an excellent hole-transportproperty.

The hole-transport skeletons of the first, second, and third organiccompounds are preferably the same, also in the case where theseskeletons have the skeleton of at least any one of the above n excessiveheteroaromatic ring (preferably, the skeleton of carbazole, dibenzofuranor dibenzothiophene) and the above tricyclic and tetracyclic condensedaromatic hydrocarbon rings (preferably, the skeleton of anthracene).This is because an electrochemical barrier between skeletons is reducedas long as the skeletons are the same, as already described.

In the above light-emitting element of one embodiment of the presentinvention, the first, second, and third organic compounds are preferablythe same compound. This is because, by making the compounds themselvesthe same as well as their hole-transport skeletons, overlap of molecularorbitals easily occurs thereby greatly facilitating hole transport.Furthermore, film formation can be successively performed with the samecompound, and accordingly, fabrication of the element is alsosimplified.

Compounds preferable as the first, second, and third organic compoundswill be specifically given below. As mentioned above, an effectivehole-transport skeleton is an aromatic amine skeleton or the skeletonhaving any one of the n excessive heteroaromatic ring and the condensedaromatic hydrocarbon ring.

Specific examples of the compounds having an aromatic amine skeleton asa hole-transport skeleton include4,4′-bis[N-(1-naphthyl)-N-phenylamino]biphenyl (abbreviation: NPB or(t-NPD), 4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)triphenylamine (abbreviation: DPhPA),N,N-diphenyl-9-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazol-3-amine(abbreviation: CzA1PA),4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)-4′-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)triphenylamine(abbreviation: YGAPA),N,9-diphenyl-N-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazol-3-amine(abbreviation: PCAPA),N,9-diphenyl-N-{4-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]phenyl}-9H-carbazol-3-amine(abbreviation: PCAPBA),N,9-diphenyl-N-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)-9H-carbazol-3-amine(abbreviation: 2PCAPA),4,4′-(quinoxaline-2,3-diyl)bis(N,N-diphenylaniline) (abbreviation:TPAQn),N,N′-(quinoxaline-2,3-diyldi-4,1-phenylene)bis(N-phenyl-1,1′-biphenyl-4-amine)(abbreviation: BPAPQ),N,N′-(quinoxaline-2,3-diyldi-4,1-phenylene)bis[bis(1,1′-biphenyl-4-yl)amine](abbreviation:BBAPQ),4,4′-(quinoxaline-2,3-diyl)bis{N-[4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)phenyl]-N-phenylaniline}(abbreviation:YGAPQ),N,N′-(quinoxaline-2,3-diyldi-4,1-phenylene)bis(N,9-diphenyl-9H-carbazol-3-amine)(abbreviation: PCAPQ),4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)-4′-(3-phenylquinoxalin-2-yl)triphenylamine(abbreviation: YGA1PQ),N,9-diphenyl-N-[4-(3-phenylquinoxalin-2-yl)phenyl]-9H-carbazol-3-amine(abbreviation: PCA1PQ),N,N,N′-triphenyl-N′-[4-(3-phenylquinoxalin-2-yl)phenyl]-1,4-phenylenediamine(abbreviation: DPA1PQ),4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)-4′-(5-phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)triphenylamine(abbreviation: YGAO11),N,9-diphenyl-N-[4-(5-phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)phenyl]-9H-carbazol-3-amine(abbreviation: PCAO11),N,N,N′-triphenyl-N′-[4-(5-phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)phenyl]-1,4-phenylenediamine(abbreviation: DPAO11),4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)-4′-(4,5-diphenyl-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)triphenylamine(abbreviation: YGATAZ1),4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)-4′-(3,5-diphenyl-4H-1,2,4-triazol-4-yl)triphenylamine(abbreviation: YGATAZ2), and the like.

Specific examples of the compounds having a n excessive heteroaromaticring and/or condensed aromatic hydrocarbon ring as a hole-transportskeleton include 1,1′,1″-(benzene-1,3,5-triyl)tripyrene,9,10-diphenylanthracene (abbreviation: DPAnth),9-(2-naphthyl)-10-[4-(1-naphthyl)phenyl]anthracene,9-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole (abbreviation: CzPA),3-phenyl-9-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole (abbreviation:CzPAP), 3,6-diphenyl-9-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole(abbreviation: DPCzPA),3-(1-naphthyl)-9-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole(abbreviation: CzPAαN),3-(biphenyl-3-yl)-9-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole(abbreviation: CzPAmB),3-[4-(1-naphthyl)phenyl]-9-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole(abbreviation: CzPAαNP),9-phenyl-3-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole (abbreviation:PCzPA), 9-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)-9H-carbazole (abbreviation: 2CzPA),9-[4-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole (abbreviation:2CzPPA), 4-[3-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)phenyl]dibenzofuran(abbreviation: 2mPDBFPA-II),4-[4-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)phenyl]dibenzofuran (abbreviation:2PDBFPA-II), 4-{3-[10-(2-naphthyl)-9-anthryl]phenyl}dibenzofuran,4-[3-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)phenyl]dibenzothiophene (abbreviation:2mPDBTPA-II), 4-[3-(triphenylen-2-yl)phenyl]dibenzothiophene(abbreviation: mDBTPTp-H),9-[4-(5-phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole (abbreviation:CO11), 9-[4-(5-phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)phenyl]-3-phenyl-9H-carbazole(abbreviation: CO11-II),9-[4-(5-phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)phenyl]-3,6-diphenyl-9H-carbazole(abbreviation: CO11-III),9-[4′″-(5-phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)-[1,1′:2′,1″:2″,1′″]quaterphenyl-4-yl]-9H-carbazole(abbreviation: Z-CzPO11),9-[4-(benzoxazol-2-yl)phenyl]-3-phenyl-9H-carbazole (abbreviation:CzBOx-II), 9-[4-(benzoxazol-2-yl)phenyl]-3,6-diphenyl-9H-carbazole(abbreviation: CzBOx-III),9-[4′″-(benzoxazol-2-yl)-[1,1′:2′,1″:2″,1′″]quaterphenyl-4-yl]-9H-carbazole(abbreviation: Z-CzPBOx), and the like.

The compounds given above are all bipolar compounds and particularlypreferred as the third organic compound.

Next, the light-emitting substance having a hole-trapping propertyincluded in the light-emitting layer 121 will be described. There is nolimitation on the light-emitting substance having a hole-trappingproperty, as long as it has a hole-trapping property with respect to thethird organic compound included in the light-emitting layer 121. Inother words, the light-emitting substance is capable of reducing thehole mobility of the third organic compound when added to thelight-emitting layer 121. Specifically, the substance preferably has aHOMO level higher than the third organic compound by 0.3 eV or more.

Here, the present inventors have found that, since a light-emittingsubstance including an aromatic amine compound or an organometalliccomplex has a hole-trapping property with respect to many organiccompounds, such a substance is preferred as the light-emitting substancein the present invention. A pyrene diamine compound or an iridiumcomplex has been found to be particularly preferable because of theirhigh hole-trapping property.

A pyrene diamine compound and an iridium complex have been found to havea very high hole-trapping property with respect to a compound in whichits hole-transport skeleton has a skeleton of at least any one ofanthracene, carbazole, dibenzofuran, and dibenzothiophene. Hence, thethird organic compound having such a skeleton is preferably combinedwith the light-emitting substance including a pyrene diamine compound oran iridium complex.

A pyrene diamine compound has been experimentally found to have a higherhole-trapping property (capability of greatly reducing the hole mobilityof a light-emitting layer when added to the light-emitting layer) thanother aromatic amine compounds which have substantially the same HOMOlevel as a pyrene diamine compound. Consequently, a pyrene diaminecompound is particularly preferred as the light-emitting substance inthe present invention.

Substances preferred as the light-emitting substance will be givenbelow. As described above, an aromatic amine compound or anorganometallic complex is preferable as the light-emitting substance.Examples of the aromatic amine compound includeN,N′-bis[4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)phenyl]-N,N′-diphenylstilbene-4,4′-diamine(abbreviation: YGA2S),4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)-4′-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)triphenylamine(abbreviation: YGAPA),4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)-4′-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)triphenylamine(abbreviation: 2YGAPPA),N,9-diphenyl-N-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazol-3-amine(abbreviation: PCAPA),4-(10-phenyl-9-anthyl)-4′-(9-phenyl-9H-carbazol-3-yl)triphenylamine(abbreviation: PCBAPA),N,N″-(2-tert-butylanthracene-9,10-diyldi-4,1-phenylene)bis[N,N′,N-triphenyl-1,4-phenylenediamine] (abbreviation: DPABPA),N,9-diphenyl-N-[4-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazol-3-amine(abbreviation: 2PCAPPA),N-[4-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)phenyl]-N,N,N-triphenyl-1,4-phenylenediamine(abbreviation: 2DPAPPA),N,N,N′,N′,N″,N″,N′″,N′″-octaphenyldibenzo[g,p]chrysene-2,7,10,15-tetramine(abbreviation: DBC1), coumarin 30,N-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)-N,9-diphenyl-9H-carbazo-3-amine(abbreviation: 2PCAPA),N-[9,10-bis(1,1′-biphenyl-2-yl)-2-anthryl]-N,9-diphenyl-9H-carbazol-3-amine(abbreviation: 2PCABPhA),N-(9,10-diphenyl-2-antryl)-N,N′,N′-triphenyl-1,4-phenylenediamine(abbreviation: 2DPAPA),N-[9,10-bis(1,1′-biphenyl-2-yl)-2-anthryl]-N,N′,N′-triphenyl-1,4-phenylenediamine(abbreviation: 2DPABPhA),N-[9,10-bis(1,1′-biphenyl-2-yl)]-N-[4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)phenyl]-N-phenylanthracen-2-amine(abbreviation: 2YGABPhA), N,N,9-triphenylanthracen-9-amine(abbreviation: DPhAPhA),4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)-4′-(9-phenyl-9H-fluoren-9-yl)triphenylamine(abbreviation: FLPAPA), N,N,N′,N′-tetraphenylpyrene-1,6-diamine,N,N′-(3-methylphenyl)-N,N′-diphenylpyrene-1,6-diamine,N,N′-bis[4-(9-phenyl-9H-fluoren-9-yl)phenyl]-N,N-diphenylpyrene-1,6-diamine(abbreviation: 1,6FLPAPrn),N,N-bis(4-tert-butylphenyl)-N,N-bis[4-(9-phenyl-9H-fluoren-9-yl)phenyl]-pyrene-1,6-diamine(abbreviation: 1,6tBu-FLPAPrn), and the like.

Examples of the organometallic complex includebis[2-(4′,6′-difluorophenyl)pyridinato-N,C^(2′)]iridium(III)acetylacetonate (abbreviation: FIracac),tris(2-phenylpyridinato-N,C^(2′))iridium(III) (abbreviation: Ir(ppy)₃),bis[2-phenylpyridinato-N,C^(2′)]iridium(III) acetylacetonate(abbreviation: Ir(ppy)₂(acac)), tris(benzo[h]quinolinato)iridium(II)(abbreviation: Ir(bzq)₃), bis(benzo[h]quinolinato)iridium(III)acetylacetonate (abbreviation: Ir(bzq)₂(acac)),bis(2,4-diphenyl-1,3-oxazolato-N,C^(2′))iridium(III) acetylacetonate(abbreviation: Ir(dpo)₂(acac)),bis(2-phenylbenzothiazolato-N,C^(2′))iridium(III) acetylacetonate(abbreviation: Ir(bt)₂(acac)),bis[2-(2′-benzo[4,5-α]thienyl)pyridinato-N,C^(3′)]iridium(III)acetylacetonate (abbreviation: Ir(btp)₂(acac)),tris(1-phenylisoquinolinato-N,C^(2′))iridium(III) (abbreviation:Ir(piq)₃), bis(1-phenylisoquinolinato-N,C^(2′))iridium(III)acetylacetonate (abbreviation: Ir(piq)₂(acac)),2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethyl-21H,23H-porphyrinplatinum(II)(abbreviation: PtOEP), and the like.

Next, the electron-accepting compound included in the first layer 111will be described. The electron-accepting compound receives electronsfrom the first organic compound merely by being mixed (in contact) withthe first organic compound or easily by application of an electricfield. For example, a transition metal oxide and an oxide of a metalbelonging to any of Groups 4 to 8 of the periodic table are given.Specifically, vanadium oxide, niobium oxide, tantalum oxide, chromiumoxide, molybdenum oxide, tungsten oxide, manganese oxide, and rheniumoxide are preferable since their electron-accepting property is high. Inparticular, molybdenum oxide is preferable because it has a lowhygroscopic property. In addition, organic compounds such as7,7,8,8-tetracyano-2,3,5,6-tetrafluoroquinodimethane (abbreviation:F₄-TCNQ) and chloranil can be given.

Preferably, the electron-accepting compound is added to the first layer111 so that the mass ratio of the electron-accepting compound to thefirst organic compound is from 1:0.1 to 1:4.0 inclusive.

In the case where the electron-accepting compound receives electronsfrom the first organic compound by merely being mixed (in contact) withthe first organic compound, a charge-transfer complex is formed in thefirst layer. As this time, absorption in the infrared region due tocharge transfer interaction occurs. When the first organic compound isan aromatic amine compound, absorption in the visible light region alsooccurs in many cases, which is disadvantageous in terms oftransmittance. For example, in Japanese Published Patent Application No.2003-272860, a mixture of vanadium oxide and a compound having anaromatic amine skeleton causes absorption at around 500 nm and around1300 nm. Further, a mixture of F₄-TCNQ and a compound having an aromaticamine skeleton causes absorption at around 700 nm, around 900 nm, andaround 1200 nm. In this case, an absorption peak particularly in thevisible light region is a cause of a reduction in emission efficiency.

The present inventors have found that, despite no occurrence of theabsorption due to charge transfer interaction, a barrier to holeinjection from the anode is substantially removed in the case where thefirst layer is formed using the electron-accepting compound and thefirst organic compound which has a n excessive heteroaromatic ring(preferably, the skeleton of carbazole, dibenzofuran ordibenzothiophene) or the above tricyclic or tetracyclic condensedaromatic hydrocarbon ring (preferably, the skeleton of anthracene) asthe hole-transport skeleton. Hence, the first layer which does not havean absorption peak in the visible light region can be easily formed,whereby a reduction in emission efficiency caused by a transmittancedecrease can be prevented.

The above structure brings about effects described below. A change inthe thickness of the EL layer 103 for optical designing is carried outpreferably by increasing the thickness of the first layer 111 which lesscauses a variation in drive voltage and by decreasing the thicknesses ofthe other layers. However, if the first layer is a layer that exhibitsan absorption spectrum peak in the visible light region and itsthickness is increased, the first layer Ill absorbs light emitted fromthe light-emitting layer 121, which engenders a reduction in emissionefficiency. The first layer 111 which does not cause the absorption dueto charge transfer interaction as described above is therefore used,thereby optimizing the emission efficiency. The increase in thethickness of the first layer 111 is also effective in preventing a shortcircuit in the light-emitting element.

Thus, from the viewpoint of combination with the electron-acceptingcompound, the hole-transport skeleton of the first organic compoundpreferably has a skeleton including a n excessive heteroaromatic ring ora tricyclic or tetracyclic condensed aromatic hydrocarbon ring. Inparticular, carbazole, dibenzofuran, dibenzothiophene, or anthracene ispreferred since they have very high electrochemical stability and anexcellent hole-transport property.

Note that in the case where the first organic compound has an aromaticamine skeleton, the hole-transport skeleton of the first organiccompound is the aromatic amine skeleton in many cases. In this case, theabove-mentioned absorption due to charge transfer interaction occurs.Hence, it is preferable that the first organic compound do not have anaromatic amine skeleton.

Further, a conventional assumption has been that, if the ionizationpotential of an organic compound is 5.7 eV or more (the HOMO level is−5.7 eV or less), oxidation-reduction reaction is difficult to causebetween the organic compound and an electron-accepting compound (e.g.,see Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2003-272860). Therefore,as an organic compound for causing the oxidation reduction reaction withan electron-accepting compound, it has been considered necessary to usea substance having an ionization potential less than 5.7 eV (a HOMOlevel more than −5.7 eV), specifically a substance having a highelectron-donating property such as aromatic amine. Nevertheless, in oneembodiment of the present invention, when the first organic compound hasa HOMO level of at least greater than or equal to −6.0 eV and less thanor equal to −5.7 eV even without including an aromatic amine skeleton,the first layer can function despite no absorption due to chargetransfer interaction with the electron-accepting compound, according toexperimental findings of the present inventors.

Thus, in the above light-emitting element of one embodiment of thepresent invention, the HOMO level of the first organic compound ispreferably greater than or equal to −6.0 eV and less than or equal to−5.7 eV. This structure makes it easy to embody a concept of the presentinvention even when the energy gap of the light-emitting layer is largeand the HOMO of the first organic compound is low.

Preferred examples of the compounds having no aromatic amine skeletonincludes, as given above, 9,10-diphenylanthracene (abbreviation:DPAnth), 9-(2-naphthyl)-10-[4-(1-naphthyl)phenyl]anthracene,9-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole (abbreviation: CzPA),3-phenyl-9-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole (abbreviation:CzPAP), 3,6-diphenyl-9-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole(abbreviation: DPCzPA),3-(1-naphthyl)-9-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole(abbreviation: CzPAαN),3-(biphenyl-3-yl)-9-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole(abbreviation: CzPAmB),3-[4-(1-naphthyl)phenyl]-9-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole(abbreviation: CzPAαNP),9-phenyl-3-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole (abbreviation:PCzPA), 9-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)-9H-carbazole (abbreviation: 2CzPA),9-[4-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole (abbreviation:2CzPPA), 4-[3-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)phenyl]dibenzofuran(abbreviation: 2mPDBFPA-II),4-[4-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)phenyl]dibenzofuran (abbreviation:2PDBFPA-II), 4-(3-[10-(2-naphthyl)-9-anthryl]phenyl}dibenzofuran,4-[3-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)phenyl]dibenzothiophene (abbreviation:2mPDBTPA-II), 4-[3-(triphenylen-2-yl)phenyl]dibenzothiophene(abbreviation: mDBTPTp-II),9-[4-(5-phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole (abbreviation:CO11), 9-[4-(5-phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)phenyl]-3-phenyl-9H-carbazole(abbreviation: CO11-II),9-[4-(5-phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)phenyl]-3,6-diphenyl-9H-carbazole(abbreviation: CO11-III),9-[4′″-(5-phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)-[1,1′:2′,1″:2″,1′″]quaterphenyl-4-yl]-9H-carbazole(abbreviation: Z-CzPO11),9-[4-(benzoxazol-2-yl)phenyl]-3-phenyl-9H-carbazole (abbreviation:CzBOx-II), 9-[4-(benzoxazol-2-yl)phenyl]-3,6-diphenyl-9H-carbazole(abbreviation: CzBOx-III), and9-[4′″-(benzoxazol-2-yl)-[1,1′:2′,1″:2″,1′″]quaterphenyl-4-yl]-9H-carbazole(abbreviation: Z-CzPBOx). Alternatively, a polymer of a carbazolederivative such as poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (abbreviation: PVK) may beused.

The specific structure of the EL layer 103 is described above. The anode101 and the cathode 102 will be described below.

For the anode 101, a metal, an alloy, an electrically conductivecompound, a mixture thereof, or the like having a high work function(specifically, a work function of 4.0 eV or more is preferable) ispreferably used. For example, indium oxide-tin oxide (ITO: indium tinoxide), indium oxide-tin oxide containing silicon or silicon oxide,indium oxide-zinc oxide (IZO: Indium Zinc Oxide), indium oxidecontaining tungsten oxide and zinc oxide (IWZO), and the like are given.Such conductive metal oxide films are generally deposited by asputtering method, but may be formed by an inkjet method, a spin coatingmethod, or the like by applying a sol-gel method or the like. Forexample, indium oxide-zinc oxide (IZO) can be formed by a sputteringmethod using indium oxide into which 1 wt % to 20 wt % of zinc oxide isadded, as a target. Moreover, indium oxide (IWZO) containing tungstenoxide and zinc oxide can be formed by a sputtering method using a targetin which 0.5 wt % to 5 wt % of tungsten oxide and 0.1 wt % to 1 wt %/oof zinc oxide with respect to indium oxide are included. Further, thefollowing can be given: gold (Au), platinum (Pt), nickel (Ni), tungsten(W), chromium (Cr), molybdenum (Mo), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), copper(Cu), palladium (Pd), titanium (Ti), nitride of a metal material (e.g.,titanium nitride), molybdenum oxide, vanadium oxide, ruthenium oxide,tungsten oxide, manganese oxide, titanium oxide, and the like.Alternatively, a conductive polymer such aspoly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrenesulfonic acid) (PEDOT/PSS)or polyaniline/poly(styrenesulfonic acid) (PAni/PSS) may be used.

For the cathode 102, a metal, an alloy, an electrically-conductivecompound, a mixture thereof or the like having a low work function(specifically, a work function of 3.8 eV or less) can be used. As atypical example of such a cathode material, an element belonging toGroup 1 or 2 in the periodic table, i.e., an alkali metal such aslithium (Li) or cesium (Cs), or an alkaline earth metal such asmagnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), or strontium (Sr); an alloy containing anyof these (such as MgAg or AlLi); a rare earth metal such as europium(Eu) or ytterbium (Yb); an alloy containing such a rare earth metal; orthe like can be used. Alternatively, the cathode can be formed using astack of a thin film of an alkali metal compound, an alkaline earthmetal compound, or a rare-earth metal compound (e.g., lithium fluoride(LiF), lithium oxide (LiO_(X)), cesium fluoride (CsF), calcium fluoride(CaF₂), or erbium fluoride (ErF₃)) and a film of a metal such asaluminum. A film of an alkali metal, an alkaline earth metal, or analloy including these metals can be formed by a vacuum evaporationmethod. An alloy film containing an alkali metal or an alkaline earthmetal can also be formed by sputtering. Further alternatively, a filmcan be formed of a silver paste by an inkjet method or the like.

Note that in the light-emitting element of one embodiment of the presentinvention, at least one of the anode and the cathode has alight-transmitting property. The light-transmitting property can beensured by using a transparent electrode such as ITO or by reducing thethickness of the electrode.

Further, a substrate used for forming the light-emitting element of oneembodiment of the present invention may be provided on either the anode101 side or the cathode 102 side. The kinds of the substrate can be, forexample, glass, plastic, metal, or the like. Note that other kinds ofmaterials can be used as long as they can function as a support of thelight-emitting element. In the case where light from the light-emittingelement is extracted outside through the substrate, the substratepreferably has a light-transmitting property.

With the structure described above, the light-emitting element of oneembodiment of the present invention can be manufactured. Note that theEL layer 103 may still include another layer. Specifically, asillustrated in FIG. 3, the element structure may include anelectron-transport layer 113 and an electron-injection layer 114.

The electron-transport layer 113 contains, for example, a metal complexhaving a quinoline skeleton or a benzoquinoline skeleton, such astris(8-quinolinolato)aluminum (abbreviation: Alq),tris(4-methyl-8-quinolinolato)aluminum (abbreviation: Almq₃),bis(10-hydroxybenzo[h]-quinolinato)beryllium (abbreviation: BeBq₂), orbis(2-methyl-8-quinolinolato)(4-phenylphenolato)aluminum (abbreviation:BAlq). Alternatively, a metal complex having an oxazole-based orthiazole-based ligand, such as bis[2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)benzoxazolato]zinc(abbreviation: Zn(BOX)₂) or bis[2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)benzothiazolato]zinc(abbreviation: Zn(BTZ)₂), or the like can be used. Instead of metalcomplexes, 2-(4-biphenylyl)-5-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole(abbreviation: PBD),1,3-bis[5-(p-tert-butylphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl]benzene(abbreviation: OXD-7),3-(4-biphenylyl)-4-phenyl-5-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-1,2,4-triazole(abbreviation: TAZ), bathophenanthroline (abbreviation: BPhen),bathocuproine (abbreviation: BCP), or the like can also be used. Thesubstances mentioned here are mainly ones that have an electron mobilityof 10⁻⁶ cm²/V·s or more. Note that a substance other than the above maybe used for the electron-transport layer as long as it has anelectron-transport property higher than its hole-transport property.Furthermore, the electron-transport layer is not limited to a singlelayer and may be a stack of two or more layers containing any of theabove substances.

Alternatively, high molecular compounds can be used. For example,poly[(9,9-dihexylfluorene-2,7-diyl)-co-(pyridine-3,5-diyl)](abbreviation: PF-Py),poly[(9,9-dioctylfluorene-2,7-diyl)-co-(2,2′-bipyridin-6,6′-diyl)](abbreviation: PF-BPy), or the like can be used.

For the electron-injection layer 114, an alkali metal, an alkaline earthmetal, or a compound thereof such as lithium, calcium, magnesium,lithium fluoride (LiF), lithium oxide (LiO_(x)), cesium fluoride (CsF),or calcium fluoride (CaF₂), can be used.

Alternatively, a layer including an electron-transport substance and analkali metal, an alkaline earth metal, or a compound thereofspecifically, a layer including Alq and magnesium (Mg), or the like maybe used. Note that in this case, electrons can be more efficientlyinjected from the cathode 102.

Next is described a method of manufacturing a light-emitting element ofone embodiment of the present invention. As the manufacturing method, adry process typified by a vacuum evaporation method is preferablyemployed. This is because a dry process more easily forms separateregions to stack the first layer, the second layer, and thelight-emitting layer in the light-emitting element of one embodiment ofthe present invention. In terms of this, the first organic compound, thesecond organic compound, the third organic compound, and thelight-emitting substance are preferably low molecular compounds.

However, any of a variety of methods may be employed to form thelight-emitting element of one embodiment of the present inventionregardless of whether the method is a dry process or a wet process.Typical examples of wet processes include, but not limited to, an inkjetmethod, a spin coating method, and the like.

Thus, by applying the present invention, it is possible to provide alight-emitting element having a long lifetime and also provide alight-emitting element having excellent emission efficiency and drivevoltage.

Embodiment 2

Embodiment 2 will provide descriptions of a structure preferred forhigher carrier recombination efficiency of the light-emitting elementwhich is one embodiment of the present invention, referring to amaterial to be used and a fabrication method. In Embodiment 2, a regioninterposed between an anode and a cathode is called an EL layer.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate respectively a conceptual element structureand its band diagram of the light-emitting element of one embodiment ofthe present invention in Embodiment 2. As illustrated in FIG. 4A, in alight-emitting element of one embodiment of the present invention, an ELlayer 403 is provided between an anode 401 and a cathode 402. The ELlayer 403 at least has a stack structure where a first layer 411, asecond layer 412, a first light-emitting layer 421, and a secondlight-emitting layer 422 are provided in order from the anode 401.Further, the first layer 411 contains the first organic compound and theelectron-accepting compound. The second layer 412 contains a secondorganic compound. The first light-emitting layer 421 contains the thirdorganic compound and a first light-emitting substance having ahole-trapping property with respect to the third organic compound. Thesecond light-emitting layer 422 contains a fourth organic compound and asecond light-emitting substance having a hole-trapping property withrespect to the fourth organic compound. The fourth organic compound is acompound different from the third organic compound.

First, the present inventors have considered substantially equalizing aHOMO level 433 of the first organic compound in the first layer and aHOMO level 434 of the second organic compound in the second layer, asillustrated in FIG. 4B. Similarly, the inventors have consideredsubstantially equalizing the HOMO level 434 of the second organiccompound in the second layer and a HOMO level 435 of the third organiccompound in the first light-emitting layer. Further, the inventors haveconsidered substantially equalizing the HOMO level 435 of the thirdorganic compound in the first light-emitting layer and a HOMO level 437of the fourth organic compound in the second light-emitting layer.Hence, hole-injection barriers are extremely reduced between the firstlayer 411 and the second layer 412, between the second layer 412 and thefirst light-emitting layer 421, and between the first light-emittinglayer 421 and the second light-emitting layer 422.

In view of the electrochemical selectivity described in Embodiment 1, inthis specification, the HOMO levels that are substantially equalizedmean, specifically, HOMO levels that differ from each other by from −0.2eV to +0.2 eV inclusive.

As described in Embodiment 1, even when there is a gap between a workfunction 431 of the anode and the HOMO level 433 of the first organiccompound included in the first layer 411, holes are smoothly injected bythe addition of the electron-accepting compound to the first layer 411;thus, the hole-injection barrier is substantially removed. As the firstlayer 411, the electron-accepting compound and the first organiccompound may be combined, or may be layered in order from the anode.

The above-described structure substantially removes the hole-injectionbarriers between the layers from the anode to the first and secondlight-emitting layers.

Further, a light-emitting substance having a hole-trapping property isadded to each light-emitting layer for the same reason as inEmbodiment 1. Specifically, in the first light-emitting layer 421, thefirst light-emitting substance having a hole-trapping property withrespect to the third organic compound included in the firstlight-emitting layer 421 is added. In the second light-emitting layer422, the second light-emitting substance having a hole-trapping propertywith respect to the fourth organic compound included in the secondlight-emitting layer 422 is added. Accordingly, without increasing drivevoltage, holes can be prevented from passing to the cathode.

In order that holes be trapped by the light-emitting substances, thethird organic compound and the first light-emitting substance having ahole-trapping property are preferably a host material and a guestmaterial, respectively, in the first light-emitting layer 421. Also, thefourth organic compound and the second light-emitting substance having ahole-trapping property are preferably a host material and a guestmaterial, respectively, in the second light-emitting layer 422.

A HOMO level 436 of the first light-emitting substance having ahole-trapping property is preferably higher than the HOMO level 435 ofthe third organic compound by 0.3 eV or more in view of theabove-described electrochemical selectivity. Further, a HOMO level 438of the second light-emitting substance having a hole-trapping propertyis preferably higher than the HOMO level 437 of the fourth organiccompound by 0.3 eV or more in view of the above-describedelectrochemical selectivity.

Merely preventing holes from passing to the cathode for higher emissionefficiency can be achieved also by adding a material for trapping holesbetween the anode 401 and the first light-emitting layer 421. However,such a technique reduces the speed of hole transport until holes reachthe first light-emitting layer 421 to emit light, thereby inevitablyincreasing drive voltage. In contrast, in the structure of oneembodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B,holes are transported from the anode 401 to the first light-emittinglayer 421 without influence of a barrier or a trap, and accordingly thedrive voltage increase can be minimized. In short, it is preferable thata material having a hole-trapping property be not added to the secondlayer.

Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 4B, the holes that reach the firstlight-emitting layer 421 and the second light-emitting layer 422 aretrapped at the HOMO level 436 of the first light-emitting substancehaving a hole-trapping property and the HOMO level 438 of the secondlight-emitting substance having a hole-trapping property, and the holessuddenly reduce their moving speed in the first light-emitting layer 421and the second light-emitting layer 422. Then, these holes that areslowed down and electrons injected from the cathode 402 recombineefficiently, resulting in highly efficient light emission. In FIG. 4B,reference numeral 432 denotes the work function of the cathode. Further,electrons need to be transported sufficiently in the firstlight-emitting layer 421 and the second light-emitting layer 422 interms of drive voltage. It is preferable, therefore, that both the thirdorganic compound, which is the host material of the first light-emittinglayer 421, and the fourth organic compound, which is the host materialof the second light-emitting layer 422, have not only a hole-transportproperty but also an electron-transport property. That is, the third andfourth organic compounds are preferably bipolar materials.

In this specification, the “bipolar material” means a material that iscapable of injecting holes (reaction in which electrons are taken away)and electron-injection (reaction in which electrons are received) in anEL layer, relatively stable in each reaction, and capable oftransporting both holes and electrons sufficiently.

Note that reference numeral 439 denotes the LUMO level of the firstorganic compound included in first layer 411; reference numeral 440, theLUMO level of the second organic compound in the second layer; referencenumeral 443, the LUMO level of the first light-emitting substance havinga hole-trapping property; and reference numeral 444, the LUMO level ofthe second light-emitting substance.

The characteristic scheme to enhance the recombination efficiency in thelight-emitting layers which does not use a barrier is that the firstlight-emitting layer 421 including the third organic compound and thesecond light-emitting layer 422 including the fourth organic compoundare stacked and the third and fourth organic compounds are intentionallydifferent compounds in Embodiment 2.

As described above, there is no substantial electrochemicalhole-injection barrier between the third and fourth organic compounds(their HOMO levels are substantially equalized). However, hole transportbetween different kinds of substances is somewhat slower than betweenthe same kind of substances.

As to electrons, in one embodiment of the present invention illustratedin FIGS. 4A and 4B, a LUMO level 441 of the third organic compound and aLUMO level 442 of the fourth organic compound are substantiallyequalized, and therefore there is no substantial electrochemical barrierto electron injection from the fourth organic compound to the thirdorganic compound. However, since the third and fourth organic compoundsare different compounds, electron transport between them is somewhatsuppressed as compared with that between the same kind of substances. Inview of electrochemical selectivity, the LUMO levels that aresubstantially equalized mean, specifically, LUMO levels differ by from−0.2 eV to +0.2 eV inclusive.

Thus, transport of both holes and electrons is suppressed at aninterface between the first light-emitting layer 421 and the secondlight-emitting layer 422. Since there is no electrochemical barrier atthis interface, the effect of such suppression is not quite large.Nevertheless, the effect influences both holes and electrons, andaccordingly, a carrier recombination region is formed centered in thisinterface. Moreover, since the recombination is not attributed to use ofa barrier, the recombination region is not localized, thereby making itdifficult to cause the phenomenon in which accumulation or concentrationof holes or electrons on a small region (the vicinity of the barrier)occurs to promote deterioration.

The present inventors have found that the above design enables carriersto recombine mainly inside the light-emitting layers (in the vicinity ofthe interface between the first light-emitting layer 421 and the secondlight-emitting layer 422) without using a barrier. Thus, the idea thatdifferent bipolar materials, each of which transports both holes andelectrons, are combined and included in light-emitting layers forming ajunction to generate carrier recombination is a new concept that can becalled a “bipolar hetero junction,” and is one of the important ideas ofthe present invention. This can increase emission efficiency as well asprevent deterioration caused by a barrier.

As described above, what is important in the light-emitting element ofone embodiment of the present invention is that holes are smoothlytransported from the anode to the light-emitting layers withoutencountering a barrier or a trap, and the moving speed of electrons aswell as that of the holes is controlled in the light-emitting layerswithout using a barrier thereby leading to highly efficientrecombination. Avoiding use of a barrier makes it difficult to cause aphenomenon in which accumulation or concentration of holes or electronson a small region (the vicinity of the barrier) occurs to promotedeterioration, whereby it is possible to contribute to a longerlifetime. Further, there is no substantial hole-injection barrier orhole trap between the layers from the anode to the light-emitting layer,and accordingly, drive voltage can be lowered. Furthermore, since thelight-emitting substances having a hole-trapping property are used inthe light-emitting layers and also the bipolar hetero junction isemployed, holes and electrons can efficiently recombine even withoutusing a barrier. Thus, a light-emitting element having high emissionefficiency as well as a long lifetime can be realized.

In view of the above, the first light-emitting layer 421 preferably hasa lower hole-transport property than the second layer 412. To make thehole-transport property of the first light-emitting layer 421 lower thanthat of the second layer 412, for instance, the second organic compoundand the third organic compound may be the same compound. By such atechnique, the first light-emitting layer 421 has a lower hole-transportproperty than the second layer 412 because the first light-emittinglayer 421 includes the first light-emitting substance having ahole-trapping property.

On the basis of the above points, concepts and specific examples ofmaterials applicable to the first, second, third, and fourth organiccompounds will be described below.

As in Embodiment 1, the hole-transport skeletons of the first, second,third, and fourth organic compounds are preferably the same. Descriptionof the hole-transport skeletons can be found in Embodiment 1 withreference to FIGS. 6A to 6C, FIGS. 7A to 7C, FIGS. 8A to 8C, FIGS. 9A to9C, FIGS. 10A to 10C, FIGS. 11A to 11C, FIGS. 12A to 12C, FIGS. 13A to13C, and FIGS. 14A to 14C.

Further, one of the points of Embodiment 2 is to substantially removethe electron-injection barrier between the third and fourth organiccompounds. As one technique therefor, the present inventors haveproposed that electron-transport skeletons of the third organic compoundand the fourth organic compound be the same.

The “electron-transport skeleton” means a part or the whole of askeleton of a compound where the LUMO is distributed. Distribution ofthe LUMO can be found by molecular orbital calculations. When theelectron-transport skeletons of compounds (the third and fourth organiccompounds in Embodiment 2) are the same, the LUMO levels of thecompounds are close to each another, whereby electrochemical barriersbetween the compounds are reduced.

Specific examples of the electron-transport skeleton will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 6A to 6C, FIGS. 7A to 7C, FIGS. 8A to 8C, FIGS.9A to 9C, FIGS. 10A to 10C, FIGS. 11A to 11C, FIGS. 12A to 12C, FIGS.13A to 13C, and FIGS. 14A to 14C. As illustrated in FIGS. 6A to 6C,FIGS. 7A to 7C, and FIGS. 8A to 8C, CzPA, CzPAP and PCzPA are each acompound in which an anthracene skeleton and a carbazole skeleton arecombined. In each compound, the LUMO is distributed around theanthracene skeleton, and the anthracene skeleton can therefore beconsidered as an electron-transport skeleton.

As illustrated in FIGS. 9A to 9C and FIGS. 10A to 10C, 2mPDBFPA-II and2PDBFPA-II are each a compound in which an anthracene skeleton and adibenzofuran skeleton are combined. In each compound, the LUMO isdistributed mainly around the anthracene skeleton while the dibenzofuranskeleton makes a slight contribution to the LUMO. Both the anthraceneskeleton and the dibenzofuran skeleton can therefore be considered aselectron-transport skeletons (note that the contribution by theanthracene skeleton is larger).

As illustrated in FIGS. 11A to 11C, mDBTPTp-II is a compound in which atriphenylene skeleton and a dibenzothiophene skeleton are combined. InmDBTPTp-II, the LUMO is distributed mainly around the triphenyleneskeleton while the dibenzothiophene skeleton makes a little contributionto the LUMO, and therefore both the triphenylene skeleton and thedibenzothiophene skeleton can be considered as electron-transportskeletons (note that the contribution by the triphenylene skeleton islarger than that by the triphenylene skeleton).

As illustrated in FIGS. 12A to 12C and FIGS. 13A to 13C, CO11 andZ-CzPO11 are each a compound in which a 1,3,4-oxadiazole skeleton and acarbazole skeleton are combined. In each compound, the LUMO isdistributed centering around the 1,3,4-oxadiazole skeleton, andtherefore the 1,3,4-oxadiazole skeleton can be considered as anelectron-transport skeleton.

As illustrated in FIGS. 14A to 14C, Z-CzPBOx is a compound in which abenzoxazole skeleton and a carbazole skeleton are combined. In Z-CzPBOx,the LUMO is distributed centering around the benzoxazole skeleton, andtherefore the benzoxazole skeleton can be considered as anelectron-transport skeleton.

As described above, a hole-transport skeleton and an electron-transportskeleton can be estimated by molecular orbital calculations. Accordingto one embodiment of the present invention, the first, second, third,and fourth organic compounds have the same hole-transport skeleton, andalso the third and fourth organic compounds have the sameelectron-transport skeleton.

The hole-transport skeleton is preferably a skeleton having a highelectron-donating property; typically, an aromatic amine skeleton iswell known. Alternatively, a n excessive heteroaromatic ring or acondensed aromatic hydrocarbon ring is effective. Note that the “nexcessive heteroaromatic ring” means a monohetero five-membered aromaticring (e.g., pyrrole, furan, or thiophene) or a skeleton having amonohetero five-membered aromatic ring obtained by ring-fusing of anaromatic ring (typically, a benzene ring).

Further, the present inventors have found the following combination as atechnique for reducing the hole-injection barriers between the first andsecond organic compounds, between the second and third organiccompounds, and between the third and fourth organic compounds. Namely,the technique provides the structure where the hole-transport skeletonof the first organic compound (first hole-transport skeleton), that ofthe second organic compound (second hole-transport skeleton), that ofthe third organic compound (third hole-transport skeleton), and that ofthe fourth organic compound (fourth hole-transport skeleton) eachseparately include a skeleton of at least any one of a n excessiveheteroaromatic ring, a tricyclic condensed aromatic hydrocarbon ring,and a tetracyclic condensed aromatic hydrocarbon ring. The presentinventors have found experimentally that the hole-injection barriers canbe substantially removed in this case even if the first, second, third,and fourth hole-transport skeletons are different from one another.Thus, one embodiment of the present invention covers such a combinationas well.

Specific examples and preferred examples of a n excessive heteroaromaticring, a tricyclic condensed aromatic hydrocarbon ring, and a tetracycliccondensed aromatic hydrocarbon ring are the same as in Embodiment 1.

The hole-transport skeletons of the first, second, third, and fourthorganic compounds are preferably the same, also in the case where theseskeletons have the skeleton of at least any one of a n excessiveheteroaromatic ring and tricyclic and tetracyclic condensed aromatichydrocarbon rings. This is because an electrochemical barrier betweenskeletons is reduced as long as the skeletons are the same, as alreadydescribed.

In the above light-emitting element of one embodiment of the presentinvention, the first, second, and third organic compounds are preferablythe same compound. This is because, by making the compounds themselvesthe same as well as their hole-transport skeletons, overlap of molecularorbitals easily occurs thereby greatly facilitating hole transport.Furthermore, film formation can be successively performed with the samecompound, and accordingly, fabrication of the element is alsosimplified. Note that the fourth organic compound is a compounddifferent from the first, second, and third organic compounds in orderto form the above-described bipolar heterojunction (to control thecarrier recombination region without using a barrier).

Note that specific examples of the compounds preferred as the first,second, third, and fourth organic compounds include the compound havingan aromatic amine skeleton as a hole-transport skeleton and the compoundhaving a n excessive heteroaromatic ring and/or a condensed aromatichydrocarbon ring as a hole-transport skeleton, which are given inEmbodiment 1.

To increase the recombination efficiency in the light-emitting layers,it is preferable that the first light-emitting layer 421 have a higherhole-transport property and a lower electron-transport property than thesecond light-emitting layer 422. The bipolar heterojunction having sucha combination is also one feature of the present invention.

The above feature can be realized with, for example, the firstlight-emitting layer in which 5 wt % of 1,6-FLPAPrn (having a HOMO levelof −5.40 eV) is added as the first light-emitting substance to PCzPA(having a HOMO level of −5.79 eV according to CV measurement) and thesecond light-emitting layer in which 5 wt % of 1,6-FLPAPrn, which is thesame light-emitting substance as in the first light-emitting layer, isadded as the second light-emitting substance to CzPA (having a HOMOlevel of −5.79 eV).

The first and second light-emitting substances are preferably the samecompound as described above, because they make it easy to control thehole- and electron-transport properties of the first and secondlight-emitting layers.

The first and second light-emitting substances may be light-emittingsubstances differing in their emission color so that light with amixture of the emission colors can be emitted. For instance, theemission color of the first light-emitting substance is yellow and thatof the second light-emitting substance is blue, whereby white light canbe emitted.

Next are described the first light-emitting substance having ahole-trapping property which is included in the first light-emittinglayer 421 and the second light-emitting substance having a hole-trappingproperty which is included in the second light-emitting layer 422.

There is no limitation on the first light-emitting substance, as long asit has a hole-trapping property with respect to the third organiccompound included in the first light-emitting layer 421. In other words,the light-emitting substance needs to be capable of reducing the holemobility of the third organic compound when added to the firstlight-emitting layer 421. Specifically, the substance preferably has aHOMO level higher than the third organic compound by 0.3 eV or more.

Similarly, there is no limitation on the second light-emittingsubstance, as long as it has a hole-trapping property with respect tothe fourth organic compound included in the second light-emitting layer422. In other words, when added to the second light-emitting layer 422,the light-emitting substance having a hole-trapping property needs to becapable of reducing the hole mobility of the fourth organic compound.Specifically, the substance preferably has a HOMO level higher than thefourth organic compound by 0.3 eV or more.

As in Embodiment 1, the first and second light-emitting substances arepreferably any of a light-emitting substance including an aromatic aminecompound or an organometallic complex, especially preferably a pyrenediamine compound or an iridium complex. A pyrene diamine compound and aniridium complex have been found to have a very high hole-trappingproperty with respect to a compound in which its hole-transport skeletonhas a skeleton of at least any one of anthracene, carbazole,dibenzofuran, and dibenzothiophene. Hence, each of the third and fourthorganic compounds preferably has such a hole-transport skeleton.

A pyrene diamine compound has been experimentally found to have a higherhole-trapping property (capability of greatly reducing the hole mobilityof a light-emitting layer when added to the light-emitting layer) thanother aromatic amine compounds which have substantially the same HOMOlevel as a pyrene diamine compound. Consequently, a pyrene diaminecompound is particularly preferred as the first light-emitting substanceand/or the second light-emitting substance in the present invention.

Specific examples of the first and second light-emitting substances canbe the same as those of the light-emitting substance having ahole-trapping property given in Embodiment 1.

Next, the electron-accepting compound included in the first layer 411will be described. The electron-accepting compound can also be the samecompound as in Embodiment 1. Preferably, the electron-accepting compoundis included in the first layer 411 so that the mass ratio of theelectron-accepting compound to the first organic compound is from 1:0.1to 1:4.0 inclusive.

Also as in Embodiment 1, it is preferable that the first organiccompound in the first light-emitting layer 411 be a compound having noaromatic amine skeleton and have a HOMO level of from −6.0 eV to −5.7 eVinclusive.

The specific structure of the EL layer 403 is described above. The anode401 and the cathode 402 will be described below.

Specific structures of the anode 401 and the cathode 402 can be the sameas those in Embodiment 1. Note that in the light-emitting element of oneembodiment of the present invention, at least one of the anode and thecathode has a light-transmitting property. The light-transmittingproperty can be ensured by using a transparent electrode such as ITO orby reducing the thickness of the electrode.

Further, a substrate used for forming the light-emitting element of oneembodiment of the present invention may be provided on either the anode401 side or the cathode 402 side. The kinds of the substrate can be, forexample, glass, plastic, metal, or the like. Note that other kinds ofmaterials can be used as long as they can function as a support of thelight-emitting element. In the case where light from the light-emittingelement is extracted outside through the substrate, the substratepreferably has a light-transmitting property.

With the structure described above, the light-emitting element of oneembodiment of the present invention can be manufactured. Note that theEL layer 403 may still include another layer. Specifically, asillustrated in FIG. 5, the element structure may include anelectron-transport layer 413 and an electron-injection layer 414.Structures of the electron-transport layer 413 and theelectron-injection layer 414 can be the same as those in Embodiment 1.

Next is described a method of manufacturing a light-emitting element ofone embodiment of the present invention. As the manufacturing method, adry process typified by a vacuum evaporation method is preferablyemployed. This is because a dry process more easily forms separateregions to stack the first layer, the second layer, the firstlight-emitting layer, and the second light-emitting layer in thelight-emitting element of one embodiment of the present invention. Interms of this, the first organic compound, the second organic compound,the third organic compound, the fourth organic compound, the firstlight-emitting substance, and the second light-emitting substance arepreferably low molecular compounds.

However, any of a variety of methods may be employed to form thelight-emitting element of one embodiment of the present inventionregardless of whether the method is a dry process or a wet process.Typical examples of wet processes include, but not limited to, an inkjetmethod, a spin coating method, and the like.

Thus, by applying the present invention, it is possible to provide alight-emitting element having a long lifetime and also provide alight-emitting element with excellent emission efficiency and drivevoltage.

This embodiment can be combined with any of the other embodiments andexamples.

Embodiment 3

This embodiment will provide descriptions of a structure of thelight-emitting layer, which is different from those in Embodiments 1 and2. Note that a structure of a light-emitting element will be describedusing FIGS. 1A and 1B.

In FIGS. 1A and 1B, although the light-emitting layer 121 includes thethird organic compound and the light-emitting substance having ahole-trapping property with respect to the third organic compoundaccording to Embodiment 1, the light-emitting layer 121 includes alight-emitting substance capable of emitting light (a substance having alight-emitting property) which is different from the light-emittingsubstance having a hole-trapping property according to Embodiment 3.That is, the light-emitting layer 121 of this embodiment includes thesubstance having a light-emitting property in addition to thelight-emitting substance having a hole-trapping property.

Since the structure in FIGS. 1A and 1B according to Embodiment 3, whichis except for the light-emitting layer 121, is described in Embodiment 1and will not be detailed here.

The light-emitting layer 121 includes the substance having alight-emitting property, as well as the third organic compound and thelight-emitting substance having a hole-trapping property with respect tothe third organic compound which are described in Embodiment 1.

As the substance having a light-emitting property, a substance havingexcitation energy lower than or equal to that of the light-emittingsubstance having a hole-trapping property can be used.

As the substance having a light-emitting property, a fluorescentmaterial or a phosphorescent material can be used. Specifically, any ofthe following can be used as appropriate: organometallic complexes suchasN,N′-bis[4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)phenyl]-N,N-diphenylstilbene-4,4′-diamine(abbreviation: YGA2S),4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)-4′-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)triphenylamine(abbreviation: YGAPA),N-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)-N,9-diphenyl-9H-carbazol-3-amine(abbreviation: 2PCAPA),N-[9,10-bis(1,1′-biphenyl-2-yl)-2-anthryl]-N,9-diphenyl-9H-carbazol-3-amine(abbreviation: 2PCABPhA),N-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)-N,N′,N′-triphenyl-1,4-phenylenediamine(abbreviation: 2DPAPA),N-[9,10-bis(1,1′-biphenyl-2-yl)-2-anthryl]-N,N′,N′-triphenyl-1,4-phenylenediamine(abbreviation: 2DPABPhA),N-[9,10-bis(1,1′-biphenyl-2-yl)]-N-[4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)phenyl]-N-phenylantrcen-2-amine(abbreviation: 2YGABPhA), N,N,9-triphenylanthracen-9-amine(abbreviation: DPhAPhA), rubrene,5,12-bis(1,1′-biphenyl-4-yl)-6,11-diphenyltetracene (abbreviation: BPT),N,N,N′,N′-tetrakis(4-methylphenyl)tetracene-5,11-diamine (abbreviation:p-mPhTD),7,14-diphenyl-N,N,N′,N′-tetrakis(4-methylphenyl)acenaphtho[1,2-a]fluoranthene-3,10-diamine(abbreviation: p-mPhAFD),bis[2-(2′-benzo[4,5-a]thienyl)pyridinato-N,C^(3′)]iridium(III)acetylacetonate (abbreviation: Ir(btp)₂(acac)),bis(1-phenylisoquinolinato-N,C^(2′))iridium(II) acetylacetonate(abbreviation: Ir(piq)₂(acac)),(acetylacetonato)bis[2,3-bis(4-fluorophenyl)quinoxalinato]iridium(III)(abbreviation: Ir(Fdpq)₂(acac)), and2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethyl-21H,23H-porphyrinplatinum(II)(abbreviation: PtOEP); compounds having an arylamine skeleton such asperylene, 2,5,8,11-tetra(tert-butyl)perylene (abbreviation: TBP),4,4′-bis(2,2-diphenylvinyl)biphenyl (abbreviation: DPVBi),4,4′-bis[2-(N-ethylcarbazol-3-yl)vinyl]biphenyl (abbreviation: BCzVBi),bis(2-methyl-8-quinolinolato)(4-phenylphenolato)aluminum (abbreviation:BAlq), bis(2-methyl-8-quinolinolato)gallium chloride (abbreviation:Gamq2Cl),bis[2-(3′,5′bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)pyridinato-N,C^(2′)]iridium(III)picolinate (abbreviation: Ir(CF₃ppy)₂(pic)),bis[2-(4′,6′-difluorophenyl)pyridinato-N,C^(2′)]iridium(III)acetylacetonate(abbreviation: FIr(acac)),bis[2-(4′,6′-difluorophenyl)pyridinato-N,C]iridium(III)picolinate(abbreviation: FIrpic),bis[2-(4′,6′-difluorophenyl)pyridinato-N,C^(2′)]iridium(III)tetra(1-pyrazolyl)borate(abbreviation: FIr₆), 2,3-bis(4-diphenylaminophenyl)quinoxaline(abbreviation: TPAQn), and4,4′-bis[N-(1-naphthyl)-N-phenylamino]biphenyl (abbreviation: NPB);carbazole derivatives such as 4,4′-di(N-carbazolyl)biphenyl(abbreviation: CBP) and 4,4′,4″-tris(N-carbazolyl)triphenylamine(abbreviation: TCTA); metal complexes such asbis[2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)pyridinato]zinc (abbreviation: Znpp₂),bis[2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)benzoxazolato]zinc (abbreviation: ZnBOX),bis(2-methyl-8-quinolinolato(4-phenylphenolato)aluminum (abbreviation:BAlq), and tris(8-quinolinolato)aluminum(III) (abbreviation: Alq₃); andhigh molecular compounds such as poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (abbreviation:PVK); and the like.

When such light-emitting layers of this embodiment are used to fabricatelight-emitting elements for emitting light with different colors overone substrate, the materials and processes for forming the first layer111 and the second layer 112 can be the same for both the elements,whereby the process can be simplified.

For instance, when light with two colors is intended to be emitted overone substrate, materials of the first layer 111 and the second layer 112are determined by the HOMO level and LUMO level of the light-emittingsubstance having a hole-trapping property in each of a light-emittingelement for emitting light with a first color and a light-emittingelement for emitting light with a second color. Consequently, if alight-emitting substance having a hole-trapping property which emitlight with the first color and a light-emitting substance having ahole-trapping property which emits light with the second color are used,the materials of the first layer 111 and the second layer 112 need todiffer between a light-emitting element including the light-emittingsubstance having a hole-trapping property which emits light with thefirst color and a light-emitting element including the light-emittingsubstance having a hole-trapping property which emits light with thesecond color, thus, the process is complicated.

In contrast, when the light-emitting layer includes the substance havinga light-emitting property in addition to the light-emitting substancehaving a hole-trapping property like the light-emitting layer of thisembodiment, the materials of the first layer 111 and the second layer112 can be the same regardless of emission colors.

What is important in the light-emitting element of one embodiment of thepresent invention is that holes are smoothly transported from the anodeto the light-emitting layer without encountering a barrier or a trap andthe holes reduce their moving speed in the light-emitting layer withoutusing a barrier thereby leading to highly efficient recombination. Thelight-emitting substance having a hole-trapping property thereforedetermines the HOMO level and LUMO level of the third organic compoundin the light-emitting layer. The materials of the first layer 111 andthe second layer 112 are also determined accordingly. In theconventional case where light with two colors is intended to be emittedover one substrate, the HOMO level and LUMO level of the third organiccompound in the light-emitting layer differ between the light-emittingelement for emitting light with a first color and the light-emittingelement for emitting light with a second color, and consequently, thematerials of the first layer 111 and the second layer 112 need to differbetween the elements.

In contrast, with the light-emitting element for emitting light with thefirst color and the light-emitting element for emitting light with thesecond color each of which include the light-emitting layer of thisembodiment, the materials for the first layer 111, the second layer 112,and the third organic compound and the light-emitting substance having ahole-trapping property with respect to the third organic compound whichare included in the light-emitting layer 121 can be the same for boththe elements. The substance having a light-emitting property added tothe light-emitting layer 121 is made to differ between thelight-emitting element for emitting light with the first color and thelight-emitting element for emitting light with the second color, andaccordingly, it is possible to provide light emission with colordiffering between these elements.

In this case, although the light-emitting layer of this embodiment isused for the light-emitting element for emitting light with the firstcolor and the light-emitting element for emitting light with the secondcolor, the light-emitting layer of Embodiment 1 may be used for eitherone of the elements. In other words, the light-emitting elements foremitting light with the first and second colors may be a combination ofa light-emitting element using the light-emitting layer of Embodiment 3and a light-emitting element using the light-emitting layer ofEmbodiment 1.

In FIGS. 4A and 4B as well, the light-emitting layer of this Embodiment3 can be applied. In this case, the light-emitting layer of thisembodiment can be applied to one or both of the first light-emittinglayer 421 and the second light-emitting layer 422.

In this case, the same effect as in FIGS. 1A and 1B can be obtained infabricating a light-emitting element for emitting light with differentcolors over one substrate as described above. Further, as describedabove, light-emitting layers of light-emitting elements for emittinglight with different colors may be a combination of a light-emittingelement using the light-emitting layer of Embodiment 3 and alight-emitting element using the light-emitting layer of Embodiment 1.Furthermore, a plurality of light-emitting substances in onelight-emitting layer may be made to emit light.

Although the above description gives the case where light emission withtwo colors over one substrate is intended, there is no limitation onthis case. The present invention may be applied to the case where lightemission with two or more colors over one substrate is intended or thestructure where light with a single color such as white is obtained bylight emission with two or more colors over one substrate.

This embodiment can be combined with any of the other embodiments andexamples.

Embodiment 4

A structure of a light-emitting element which is one embodiment of thepresent invention will be described in Embodiment 4. Note thatEmbodiment 4 will provide descriptions of light-emitting elements ineach of which a plurality of EL layers like those described inEmbodiments 1 and 2 is provided between an anode and a cathode(hereinafter, called a tandem light-emitting element) referring to FIGS.15A and 15B.

FIG. 15A illustrates an example of the tandem light-emitting element inwhich two EL layers, i.e., a first EL layer 503 and a second EL layer504 are stacked between an anode 501 and a cathode 502. The EL layerdescribed in Embodiment 1 or 2 can be applied to the first EL layer 503and the second EL layer 504.

As described in Embodiments 1 and 2, a region on the anode side of eachEL layer (the first layer in Embodiments 1 and 2) includes anelectron-accepting compound. This region (denoted by reference numerals511 and 512 in FIGS. 15A and 15B) including an electron-acceptingcompound functions as a charge generation layer. An appropriateelectron-injection layer 513 is provided as a portion connecting the ELlayers, and accordingly the first EL layer 503 and the second EL layer504 are connected in series; thus, the element functions as a tandemlight-emitting element. The kind of the electron-injection layer 513 maybe the same as the electron-injection layer of Embodiment 1.

As illustrated in FIG. 15B, an auxiliary layer 514 may be furtherprovided between the electron-injection layer 513 and the EL layer (thesecond EL layer 504 in FIG. 15B). As the auxiliary layer 514, forinstance, a transparent conductive film of ITO or the like may be formedso as to perform optical adjustment. Alternatively, a film of anelectron-accepting compound typified by molybdenum oxide may be formed.Further alternatively, an electron-relay layer described below may beprovided as the auxiliary layer 514.

The electron-relay layer refers to a layer capable of immediatelyreceiving electrons drawn by the electron-accepting compound in thecharge generation layer (a region 512 including the electron-acceptingcompound in FIG. 15B). Thus, the electron-relay layer is a layer thatcontains a substance having a high electron-transport property, andpreferably formed using a material having a LUMO level between theacceptor level of the electron-accepting compound and the LUMO level ofthe first EL layer 503. Specifically, the material preferably has a LUMOlevel greater than or equal to about −5.0 eV, more preferably a LUMOlevel greater than or equal to about −5.0 eV and less than or equal to−3.0 eV. As the substance used for the electron-relay layer, forexample, perylene derivatives and nitrogen-containing condensed aromaticcompounds can be given. Nitrogen-containing condensed aromatic compoundsare preferably used for the electron-relay layer because of itsstability. Among nitrogen-containing condensed aromatic compounds, acompound having an electron-withdrawing group such as a cyano group or afluoro group is preferably used because such a compound furtherfacilitates reception of electrons in the electron-relay layer.

Specific examples of the perylene derivative that can be used for theelectron-relay layer include 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylicdianhydride (abbreviation: PTCDA),3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic-bis-benzimidazole (abbreviation:PTCBI), N,N′-dioctyl-3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic diimide(abbreviation: PTCDI-C8H), and the like. As specific examples of thenitrogen-containing condensed aromatic compound, the following can begiven: pirazino[2,3-f][1,10]phenanthroline-2,3-dicarbonitrile(abbreviation: PPDN),2,3,6,7,10,11-hexacyano-1,4,5,8,9,12-hexaazatriphenylene (abbreviation:HAT(CN)₆), 2,3-diphenylpyrido[2,3-b]pyrazine (abbreviation: 2PYPR),2,3-bis(4-fluorophenyl)pyrido[2,3-b]pyrazine (abbreviation: F2PYPR), andthe like. Further, any of the following materials can be used for theelectron-relay layer: perfluoropentacene,7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (abbreviation: TCNQ),1,4,5,8-naphthalenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (abbreviation: NTCDA),copper hexadecafluorophthalocyanine (abbreviation: F₁₆CuPc),N,N-bis(2,2,3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,8,8,8-pentadecafluorooctyl)-1,4,5,8-naphthalenetetracarboxylicdiimide (abbreviation: NTCDI-C8F),3′,4′-dibutyl-5,5″-bis(dicyanomethylene)-5,5″-dihydro-2,2′:5′,2″-terthiophene(abbreviation: DCMT), methanofullerenes (e.g., [6,6]-phenyl C₆₁ butyricacid methyl ester (abbreviation: PCBM)), and the like.

The electron-relay layer may include an electron-donating compound. Theelectron-donating compound can be an alkali metal, an alkaline earthmetal, a rare earth metal, or a compound of an alkali metal, an alkalineearth metal, or a rare earth metal (including an oxide, a halide, and acarbonate). Specific examples include metals such as lithium (Li),cesium (Cs), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), strontium (Sr), europium(Eu), and ytterbium (Yb) and compounds thereof. These metals or metalcompounds are preferable because their electron-injection property ishigh.

Although the light-emitting elements having the two EL layers aredescribed in this embodiment, the present invention can be similarlyapplied to a light-emitting element in which three or more EL layers arestacked. Such a tandem light-emitting element is capable of emittinglight in a high luminance region while the current density is kept low;thus, an element having a long lifetime can be realized. When thelight-emitting element is applied for illumination, for example, avoltage drop due to resistance of an electrode material can besuppressed, thereby achieving uniform light emission in a large area. Inaddition, a light-emitting device having reduced power consumption canbe realized. Thus, a tandem light-emitting element is fabricated usingthe EL layers having the structure described in Embodiment 1 or 2,thereby creating a synergistic effect on lifetime and power consumption.

Further, by making emission colors of the EL layers different from eachother, light with a desired color can be emitted from the light-emittingelement as a whole. For instance, by making emission colors of the firstand second EL layers complementary colors, white light can be emittedfrom a light-emitting element having two EL layers as a whole. Note thatthe term “complementary” means color relationship in which an achromaticcolor is obtained when colors are mixed. That is, white light emissioncan be obtained by mixture of light from substances whose emissioncolors are complementary colors. This is applied to a light-emittingelement having three or more light-emitting units: for example, when theemission colors of the first, second, and third EL layers arerespectively red, green, and blue, white light can be emitted from thelight-emitting element as a whole.

This embodiment can be combined with any of the other embodiments andexamples.

Embodiment 5

Embodiment 5 will provide descriptions of a passive matrixlight-emitting device and an active matrix light-emitting device whichare examples of a light-emitting device manufactured using thelight-emitting element described in the above embodiments.

FIGS. 26A to 26D and FIG. 27 illustrate examples of passive matrixlight-emitting devices.

In a passive-matrix (also called simple-matrix) light-emitting device, aplurality of anodes arranged in stripes (in stripe form) is provided tobe perpendicular to a plurality of cathodes arranged in stripes. Alight-emitting layer is interposed at each intersection. Therefore, apixel at an intersection of an anode selected (to which voltage isapplied) and a cathode selected emits light.

FIGS. 26A to 26C are top views of a pixel portion before sealing, andFIG. 26D is a cross-sectional view taken along chain line A-A′ in FIGS.26A to 26C.

Over a substrate 601, an insulating layer 602 is formed as a baseinsulating layer. Note that the insulating layer 602 may be omitted whenunnecessary. Over the insulating layer 602, a plurality of firstelectrodes 603 is arranged in stripes at regular intervals (FIG. 26A).The first electrodes 603 described in this embodiment correspond to theanode or cathode in this specification.

In addition, a partition 604 having openings 605 in regionscorresponding to pixels is provided over the first electrodes 603. Thepartition 604 is formed using an insulating material. For example,polyimide, acrylic, polyamide, polyimide amide, a resist, aphotosensitive or non-photosensitive organic material such asbenzocyclobutene, or an SOG film such as an SiO_(x) film that containsan alkyl group can be used as the insulating material. An opening 605corresponding to each pixel is a light-emitting region (FIG. 26B).

Over the partition 604 having openings, a plurality of partitions 606 isprovided to intersect with the first electrodes 603 (FIG. 26C). Theplurality of partitions 606 is formed in parallel to each other, andinversely tapered.

Over the first electrodes 603 and the partitions 604, an EL layer 607and a second electrode 608 are sequentially stacked (FIG. 26D). Notethat the second electrode 608 in this embodiment corresponds to theanode or cathode in this specification. The total height of thepartition 604 and the partition 606 is larger than the total thicknessof the EL layer 607 and the second electrode 608; therefore, the ELlayer 607 and the second electrode 608 are divided into a plurality ofregions as illustrated in FIG. 26D. Note that the plurality of dividedregions is electrically isolated from one another.

The second electrodes 608 are formed in stripes and extend in thedirection in which they intersect with the first electrodes 603. Notethat part of a layer forming the EL layer 607 and part of a conductivelayer forming the second electrodes 608 are formed over the inverselytapered partitions 606; however, they are separated from the EL layer607 and the second electrodes 608.

In addition, when necessary, a sealing material such as a sealing can ora glass substrate may be attached to the substrate 601 by an adhesiveagent for sealing so that the light-emitting element can be disposed inthe sealed space. Thus, deterioration of the light-emitting element canbe prevented. The sealed space may be filled with filler or a dry inertgas. Further, a desiccant or the like is preferably put between thesubstrate and the sealing material to prevent deterioration of thelight-emitting element due to moisture or the like. The desiccantremoves a minute amount of moisture, thereby achieving sufficientdesiccation. As the desiccant, oxide of an alkaline earth metal such ascalcium oxide or barium oxide, zeolite, or silicagel can be used. Oxideof an alkaline earth metal adsorbs moisture by chemical adsorption, andzeolite and silicagel adsorb moisture by physical adsorption.

FIG. 27 is a top view of the passive-matrix light-emitting deviceillustrated in FIGS. 26A to 26D that is provided with a flexible printedcircuit (an FPC) or the like.

As illustrated in FIG. 27, in a pixel portion forming an image display,scanning lines and data lines are arranged to intersect with each otherso that the scanning lines and the data lines are perpendicular to eachother.

The first electrodes 603 in FIGS. 26A to 26D correspond to scan lines703 in FIG. 27; the second electrodes 608 in FIGS. 26A to 26D correspondto data lines 708 in FIG. 27; and the inversely-tapered partitions 606correspond to partitions 706. The EL layer 607 illustrated in FIG. 26Dare interposed between the data lines 708 and the scanning lines 703,and an intersection indicated by a region 705 corresponds to one pixel.

The scanning lines 703 are electrically connected at their ends toconnection wirings 709, and the connection wirings 709 are connected toan FPC 711 b via an input terminal 710. In addition, the data lines 708are connected to an FPC 711 a via an input terminal 712.

An optical film such as a polarizing plate, a circularly polarizingplate (including an elliptically polarizing plate), a retardation plate(a quarter-wave plate or a half-wave plate), or a color filter may beprovided as needed. Further, an anti-reflection film may be provided inaddition to the polarizing plate or the circularly polarizing plate. Byproviding the anti-reflection film, anti-glare treatment may be carriedout by which reflected light can be scattered by roughness of a surfaceso as to reduce reflection.

Although FIG. 27 illustrates the example in which a driver circuit isnot provided over the substrate, an IC chip including a driver circuitmay be mounted on the substrate.

When the IC chip is mounted, a data line side IC and a scanning lineside IC, in each of which the driver circuit for transmitting a signalto a pixel portion is formed, are mounted on the periphery of (outside)the pixel portion. As a method for mounting an IC chip, a COG method,TCP, a wire bonding method, or the like can be used. The TCP is a TABtape mounted with the IC, and the TAB tape is connected to a wiring overan element formation substrate to mount the IC. The data line side ICand the scanning line side IC may be formed using a silicon substrate, asilicon on insulator (SOI) substrate, a glass substrate, a quartzsubstrate, or a plastic substrate.

Next, an example of the active-matrix light-emitting device is describedwith reference to FIGS. 28A and 28B. FIG. 28A is a top view illustratinga light-emitting device and FIG. 28B is a cross-sectional view takenalong dashed line A-A′ in FIG. 28A. The active-matrix light-emittingdevice of this embodiment includes a pixel portion 802 provided over anelement substrate 801, a driver circuit portion (a source-side drivercircuit) 803, and a driver circuit portion (a gate-side driver circuit)804. The pixel portion 802, the driver circuit portion 803 and thedriver circuit portion 804 are sealed between the element substrate 801and the sealing substrate 806 by the sealing material 805.

Over the element substrate 801, a lead wiring 807 for connecting anexternal input terminal through which a signal (e.g., a video signal, aclock signal, a start signal, a reset signal, or the like) or electricpotential from the outside is transmitted to the driver circuit portion803 and the driver circuit portion 804 is provided. Here, an example isdescribed in which an FPC 808 is provided as the external inputterminal. Note that although only an FPC is illustrated here, a printedwiring board (PWB) may be attached thereto. In this specification, thelight-emitting device includes in its category the light-emitting deviceitself and the light-emitting device on which the FPC or the PWB ismounted.

Next, a cross-sectional structure of the active-matrix light-emittingdevice is described with reference to FIG. 28B. Although the drivercircuit portion 803, the driver circuit portion 804, and the pixelportion 802 are formed over the element substrate 801, the pixel portion802 and the driver circuit portion 803 which is the source side drivercircuit are illustrated in FIG. 28B.

In the driver circuit portion 803, an example including a CMOS circuitincludes an n-channel TFT 809 and a p-channel TFT 810 is illustrated.Note that a circuit included in the driver circuit portion can be formedusing various types of circuits such as a CMOS circuit, a PMOS circuit,or an NMOS circuit. In this embodiment, a driver-integrated type inwhich a driver circuit and the pixel portion are formed over the samesubstrate is described; however, the present invention is not limited tothis structure, and a driver circuit can be formed over a substrate thatis different from the substrate over which a pixel portion is formed.

The pixel portion 802 has a plurality of pixels, each including aswitching TFT 811, a current-controlling TFT 812, and an anode 813electrically connected to a wiring (a source electrode or a drainelectrode) of the current-controlling TFT 812. An insulator 814 isformed so as to cover an end portion of the anode 813. In thisembodiment, the insulator 814 is formed using a positive photosensitiveacrylic resin. Note that there is no particular limitation on structuresof the TFTs such as the switching TFT 811 and the current-controllingTFT 812. For example, a staggered TFT or an inverted-staggered TFT maybe used. A top-gate TFT or a bottom-gate TFT may also be used. There isno particular limitation also on materials of a semiconductor used forthe TFTs, and silicon or an oxide semiconductor such as oxide includingindium, gallium, and zinc may be used. In addition, there is noparticular limitation also on crystallinity of a semiconductor used forthe TFTs, and an amorphous semiconductor or a crystalline semiconductormay be used.

A light-emitting element 817 includes an anode 813, an EL layer 815, anda cathode 816. Since the structure and materials for the light-emittingelement is described in any of the above embodiments, a detaileddescription is omitted in this embodiment. Note that the anode 813, theEL layer 815, and the cathode 816 in FIGS. 28A and 28B correspond torespectively the anode 101, the EL layer 103, and the cathode 102 inFIGS. 1A and 1B and FIG. 3. Although not illustrated, the cathode 816 iselectrically connected to the FPC 808 which is an external inputterminal.

The insulator 814 is provided at an end portion of the anode 813. Inaddition, in order that the cathode 816 which is formed over theinsulator 814 at least favorably cover the insulator 814, the insulator814 is preferably formed so as to have a curved surface with curvatureat an upper end portion or a lower end portion. For example, it ispreferable that the upper end portion or the lower end portion of theinsulator 814 have a curved surface with a radius of curvature (0.2 μmto 3 μm). The insulator 814 can be formed using an organic compound suchas a negative photosensitive resin which becomes insoluble in an etchantby light or a positive photosensitive resin which becomes soluble in anetchant by light, or an inorganic compound such as silicon oxide orsilicon oxynitride can be used.

Although the cross-sectional view of FIG. 28B illustrates only onelight-emitting element 817, a plurality of light-emitting elements isarranged in matrix in the pixel portion 802. For example, light-emittingelements that emit light of three kinds of colors (R, G, and B) areformed in the pixel portion 802, so that a light-emitting device capableof full color display can be obtained. Alternatively, a light-emittingdevice which is capable of full color display may be manufactured by acombination with color filters.

The light-emitting element 817 is formed in a space 818 that issurrounded by the element substrate 801, the sealing substrate 806, andthe sealing material 805. The space 818 may be filled with a rare gas, anitrogen gas, or the sealing material 805.

It is preferable to use as the sealing material 805, a material thattransmits as little moisture and oxygen as possible, such as anepoxy-based resin. As the sealing substrate 806, a glass substrate, aquartz substrate, a plastic substrate formed of fiberglass-reinforcedplastics (FRP), polyvinyl fluoride (PVF), polyester, acrylic, or thelike can be used.

In the above-described manner, an active-matrix light-emitting devicecan be obtained.

This embodiment can be combined with any of the other embodiments andexamples.

Embodiment 6

Embodiment 6 will give specific examples of electronic devices andlighting devices each of which is manufactured using a light-emittingdevice described in any of the above embodiments referring to FIGS. 29Ato 29E and FIG. 30.

Examples of electronic devices that can be applied to the presentinvention include a television set (also referred to as a television ora television receiver), a monitor of a computer, a digital camera, adigital video camera, a digital photo frame, a mobile phone, a portablegame machine, a portable information terminal, an audio reproducingdevice, a game machine (e.g., a pachinko machine or a slot machine), andthe like. Some specific examples of these electronic devices andlighting devices are illustrated in FIGS. 29A to 29E and FIG. 30.

FIG. 29A illustrates a television set 9100. In the television set 9100,a display portion 9103 is incorporated in a housing 9101. Alight-emitting device manufactured using one embodiment of the presentinvention can be used in the display portion 9103, so that an image canbe displayed on the display portion 9103. Note that the housing 9101 issupported by a stand 9105 here.

The television set 9100 can be operated with an operation switch of thehousing 9101 or a separate remote controller 9110. Channels and volumecan be controlled with an operation key 9109 of the remote controller9110 so that an image displayed on the display portion 9103 can becontrolled. Furthermore, the remote controller 9110 may be provided witha display portion 9107 for displaying data output from the remotecontroller 9110.

The television set 9100 illustrated in FIG. 29A is provided with areceiver, a modem, and the like. With the receiver, the television set9100 can receive a general television broadcast. Further, when thetelevision set 9100 is connected to a communication network by wired orwireless connection via the modem, one-way (from a transmitter to areceiver) or two-way (between a transmitter and a receiver or betweenreceivers) data communication can be performed.

Since a light-emitting device manufactured using one embodiment of thepresent invention has high emission efficiency and a long lifetime, thedisplay portion 9103 including the light-emitting device in thetelevision set 9100 can display an image with improved image quality ascompared with conventional images.

FIG. 29B illustrates a computer including a main body 9201, a housing9202, a display portion 9203, a keyboard 9204, an external connectionport 9205, a pointing device 9206, and the like. The computer ismanufactured using a light-emitting device manufactured using oneembodiment of the present invention for the display portion 9203.

Since a light-emitting device manufactured using one embodiment of thepresent invention has high emission efficiency and a long lifetime, thedisplay portion 9203 including the light-emitting device in the computercan display an image with improved image quality as compared withconventional images.

FIG. 29C illustrates a portable game machine including two housings, ahousing 9301 and a housing 9302 which are jointed with a connector 9303so as to be opened and closed. A display portion 9304 is incorporated inthe housing 9301, and a display portion 9305 is incorporated in thehousing 9302. In addition, the portable game machine illustrated in FIG.29C includes an operation key 9309, a connection terminal 9310, a sensor9311 (a sensor having a function of measuring force, displacement,position, speed, acceleration, angular velocity, rotational frequency,distance, light, liquid, magnetism, temperature, chemical substance,sound, time, hardness, electric field, current, voltage, electric power,radiation, flow rate, humidity, gradient, oscillation, odor, or infraredrays), and a microphone 9312. The portable game machine may further beprovided with a speaker portion 9306, a recording medium insertionportion 9307, an LED lamp 9308, and the like. Needless to say, thestructure of the portable amusement machine is not limited to the above,and it is acceptable as long as the light-emitting device manufacturedusing any of the above embodiments is used for one or both of thedisplay portion 9304 and the display portion 9305.

The portable game machine illustrated in FIG. 29C has a function ofreading a program or data stored in a recording medium to display it onthe display portion, and a function of sharing information with anotherportable game machine by wireless communication. Note that a function ofthe portable game machine illustrated in FIG. 29C is not limited to theabove, and the portable game machine can have a variety of functions.

Since a light-emitting device manufactured using one embodiment of thepresent invention has high emission efficiency and a long lifetime, thedisplay portions (9304 and 9305) including the light-emitting device inthe portable game machine can display an image with improved imagequality as compared with conventional images.

FIG. 29D illustrates an example of a mobile phone. A mobile phone 9400is provided with a display portion 9402 incorporated in a housing 9401,operation buttons 9403, an external connection port 9404, a speaker9405, a microphone 9406, an antenna 9407, and the like. Note that themobile phone 9400 is manufactured using a light-emitting devicemanufactured using one embodiment of the present invention for thedisplay portion 9402.

Users can input data, make a call, or text messaging by touching thedisplay portion 9402 of the mobile phone 9400 illustrated in FIG. 29Dwith their fingers or the like.

There are mainly three screen modes for the display portion 9402. Thefirst mode is a display mode mainly for displaying images. The secondmode is an input mode mainly for inputting data such as text. The thirdmode is a display-and-input mode in which two modes of the display modeand the input mode are combined.

For example, in the case of making a call or text messaging, an inputmode mainly for inputting text is selected for the display portion 9402so that characters displayed on a screen can be input. In this case, itis preferable to display a keyboard or number buttons on almost theentire screen of the display portion 9402.

By providing a detection device which includes a sensor for detectinginclination, such as a gyroscope or an acceleration sensor, inside themobile phone 9400, the direction of the mobile phone 9400 (whether themobile phone 9400 is placed horizontally or vertically for a landscapemode or a portrait mode) is determined so that display on the screen ofthe display portion 9402 can be automatically switched.

In addition, the screen mode is switched by touching the display portion9402 or operating the operation buttons 9403 of the housing 9401.Alternatively, the screen mode can be switched depending on kinds ofimages displayed on the display portion 9402. For example, when a signalof an image displayed on the display portion is a signal of moving imagedata, the screen mode is switched to the display mode. When the signalis a signal of text data, the screen mode is switched to the input mode.

Furthermore, in the input mode, when input by touching the displayportion 9402 is not performed for a certain period while a signal isdetected by the optical sensor in the display portion 9402, the screenmode may be controlled so as to be switched from the input mode to thedisplay mode.

The display portion 9402 can also function as an image sensor. Forexample, an image of a palm print, a fingerprint, or the like is takenby touching the display portion 9402 with the palm or the finger,whereby personal authentication can be performed. Further, by providinga backlight or a sensing light source which emits a near-infrared lightin the display portion, an image of a finger vein, a palm vein, or thelike can be taken.

Since a light-emitting device manufactured using one embodiment of thepresent invention has high emission efficiency and a long lifetime, thedisplay portion 9402 including the light-emitting device in the mobilephone can display an image with improved image quality as compared withconventional images.

FIG. 29E illustrates a tabletop lighting device including a lightingportion 9501, a shade 9502, an adjustable arm 9503, a support 9504, abase 9505, and a power supply switch 9506. The tabletop lighting deviceis manufactured using a light-emitting device manufactured using oneembodiment of the present invention for the lighting portion 9501. Notethat the modes of the lighting device is not limited to tabletoplighting devices, but include ceiling-fixed lighting devices,wall-hanging lighting devices, portable lighting devices, and the like.

FIG. 30 illustrates an example in which the light-emitting devicemanufactured using one embodiment of the present invention is used foran indoor lighting device 1001. Since the light-emitting devicemanufactured using one embodiment of the present invention can have alarge area, the light-emitting device can be used as a lightingapparatus having a large area. In addition, the light-emitting devicedescribed in any of the above embodiments can be made thin, and thus canbe used as a roll-up type lighting device 1002. As illustrated in FIG.30, a tabletop lighting device 1003 illustrated in FIG. 29E may be usedin a room provided with the indoor lighting device 1001.

The light-emitting device of one embodiment of the present invention canalso be used as a lighting device. FIG. 31 illustrates an example of aliquid crystal display device using the light-emitting device of oneembodiment of the present invention as a backlight. The display deviceillustrated in FIG. 31 includes a housing 1101, a liquid crystal layer1102, a backlight 1103, and a housing 1104. The liquid crystal layer1102 is electrically connected to a driver IC 1105. The light-emittingdevice of one embodiment of the present invention is used as thebacklight 1103, and current is supplied to the backlight 1103 through aterminal 1106.

By using the light-emitting device of one embodiment of the presentinvention as a backlight of a liquid crystal display device in thismanner, a backlight with low power consumption can be obtained.Moreover, since the light-emitting device of one embodiment of thepresent invention is a lighting device for surface light emission andthe enlargement of the light-emitting device is possible, the backlightcan be made larger. Accordingly, a larger-area liquid crystal displaydevice having low power consumption can be obtained.

This embodiment can be combined with any of the other embodiments andexamples.

In the above-described manner, electronic devices and lighting devicescan be provided using a lighting device manufactured using oneembodiment of the present invention. The scope of application of thelight-emitting device manufactured using one embodiment of the presentinvention is so wide that it can be applied to a variety of fields ofelectronic devices.

Example 1

Example 1 will give a measurement example of the HOMO levels ofcompounds that are preferred as the first, second, third, and fourthorganic compounds in the light-emitting element of one embodiment of thepresent invention. Note that the HOMO levels were examined by cyclicvoltammetry (CV) measurement, and an electrochemical analyzer (ALS model600A or 600C, manufactured by BAS Inc.) was used for the measurements.

Further, the 25 kinds of compounds that were measured will beillustrated below. Compounds 1 and 2 each have anthracene as a skeleton,which is a tricyclic condensed aromatic ring. Compounds 3 and 4 eachhave carbazole as a skeleton, which is a n excessive heteroaromaticring. Compounds 5 to 12 each have both anthracene and carbazole asskeletons. Compounds 13 to 15 each have, as skeletons, both anthraceneand dibenzofuran which is a n excessive heteroaromatic ring. Compound 16has, as skeletons, both anthracene and dibenzothiophene which is a nexcessive heteroaromatic ring. Compound 17 is pyrene which is atetracyclic condensed aromatic ring. Compounds 18 to 24 each havecarbazole as a skeleton.

First, the measurement method will be specifically described. A solutionused for the CV measurement was prepared as follows: with use ofdehydrated dimethylfornamide (DWF, product of Sigma-Aldrich Inc., 99.8%,catalog No. 22705-6) as a solvent, tetra-n-butylammonium perchlorate(n-Bu₄NClO₄, product of Tokyo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., catalog No.T0836), which was a supporting electrolyte, was dissolved in the solventto give a concentration of 100 mmol/L, and the object to be measured wasfurther dissolved therein to give a concentration of 2 mmol/L. Note thatas for a compound which has a low solubility and cannot be dissolved ata concentration of 2 mmol/L, the undissolved portion was removed byfiltration and then the filtrate was used for the measurement. Aplatinum electrode (manufactured by BAS Inc., PTE platinum electrode)was used as a working electrode, a platinum electrode (manufactured byBAS Inc., Pt counter electrode for VC-3, (5 cm)) was used as anauxiliary electrode, and an Ag/Ag⁺ electrode (manufactured by BAS Inc.,RE7 reference electrode for nonaqueous solvent) was used as a referenceelectrode. The measurements were conducted at room temperature (20° C.to 25° C.). In addition, the scan rate in CV was set to 0.1 V/sec in allthe measurements.

[Calculation of Potential Energy of Reference Electrode with Respect toVacuum Level]

First, the potential energy (eV) of the reference electrode (an Ag/Ag⁺electrode), which was used in Example 1, with respect to the vacuumlevel was calculated. That is, the Fermi level of the Ag/Ag⁺ electrodewas calculated. It is known that the oxidation-reduction potential offerrocene in methanol is +0.610 [V vs. SHE] with respect to the normalhydrogen electrode (Reference: Christian R. Goldsmith et al., J. Am.Chem. Soc., Vol. 124, No. 1, 83-96, 2002). On the other hand, using thereference electrode used in Example 1, the oxidation-reduction potentialof ferrocene in methanol was calculated to be +0.11 V [vs. Ag/Ag⁺].Thus, it was found that the potential energy of the reference electrodeused in Example 1 was lower than that of the standard hydrogen electrodeby 0.50 [eV].

Hem, it is known that the potential energy of the normal hydrogenelectrode from the vacuum level is −4.44 eV (Reference: ToshihiroOhnishi and Tamami Koyama, High molecular EL material, Kyoritsu shuppan,pp. 64-67). Accordingly, the potential energy of the reference electrodeused in this example with respect to the vacuum level can be calculatedas follows: −4.44−0.50=−4.94 [eV].

Measurement Example of Compound 1 (DPAnth)

A method of calculating a HOMO level will be described taking an exampleof Compound 1 (DPAnth). First, with the solution of the object to bemeasured, the potential was scanned from −0.20 V to 1.30 V and then from1.30 V to −0.20 V. As a result, an oxidation peak potential E_(pa) of0.97 V and a reduction peak potential E_(pc) of 0.83 V were observed.Therefore, the half-wave potential (potential intermediate betweenE_(pc) and E_(pa)) can be calculated to be 0.90 V. This shows thatDPAnth is oxidized by electric energy of 0.90 [V vs. Ag/Ag⁺], and thisenergy corresponds to the HOMO level. Here, since the potential energyof the reference electrode, which was used in this example, with respectto the vacuum level is −4.94 [eV] as described above, the HOMO level ofDPAnth was calculated as follows: −4.94−(0.90)=−5.84 [eV].

[Measurement Results]

As for Compounds 2 to 24, the HOMO levels were examined by the samemeasurements. The measurement results are illustrated in FIG. 16. FIG.16 reveals that the HOMO level difference is roughly 0.2 eV or lessamong the compounds having a n excessive heteroaromatic ring, thosehaving a tricyclic condensed aromatic hydrocarbon ring, and those havinga tetracyclic condensed aromatic hydrocarbon ring. In addition, the HOMOlevel of each compound is from −5.7 eV to −6.0 eV inclusive (the seconddecimal place is rounded off). These results indicate that there is nosubstantial hole-injection barrier between compounds each having askeleton selected from the above skeletons as a hole-transport skeleton.

Thus, the hole-transport skeletons of the first, second, third, andfourth organic compounds in the present invention each separatelyinclude at least any of compounds having a n excessive heteroaromaticring (carbazole, dibenzofuran, or dibenzothiophene, in particular),those having a tricyclic aromatic hydrocarbon ring and those having atetracyclic condensed (particularly, anthracene), whereby a preferredembodiment of the present invention can be realized.

Example 2

Example 2 will provide descriptions of fabrication examples andcharacteristics of light-emitting elements which are embodiments of thepresent invention together with reference examples. Structural Formulaeof materials used in Example 2 will be illustrated below.

To begin with, a method of fabricating the light-emitting element(Light-emitting Element 1) which is one embodiment of the presentinvention will be described. FIG. 5 illustrates the element structure.

(Light-Emitting Element 1)

First, a glass substrate, over which an indium tin oxide containingsilicon oxide (abbreviation: ITSO) film was formed to a thickness of 110nm as the anode 401, was prepared. The periphery of a surface of theITSO film was covered with a polyimide film so that a 2 mm squareportion of the surface was exposed. The electrode area was set to 2 mm×2mm. As a pretreatment for forming the light-emitting element over thissubstrate, the surface of the substrate was washed with water and bakedat 200° C. for one hour, and then a UV ozone treatment was performed for370 seconds. Then, the substrate was transferred into a vacuumevaporation apparatus where the pressure was reduced to about 10⁻⁵ Pa.In a heating chamber of the vacuum evaporation apparatus, baking wasperformed at 170° C. for 30 minutes in vacuum. After that, the substratewas cooled down for about 30 minutes.

Next, the glass substrate provided with the anode 401 was fixed to asubstrate holder provided in a film formation chamber of the vacuumevaporation apparatus such that the surface on which the anode 401 wasformed was faced downward.

Then, first of all,9-phenyl-3-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole (abbreviation:PCzPA) and molybdenum(VI) oxide were co-evaporated over the anode 401,thereby forming the first layer 411 in which molybdenum oxidecorresponding to the electron-accepting compound was added to PCzPAcorresponding to the first organic compound. The evaporation wasperformed using resistance heating. The thickness of the first layer 411was 50 nm. The evaporation rate was controlled such that the weightratio of PCzPA to molybdenum(VI) oxide was 1:0.5 (=PCzPA:molybdenum(VI)oxide). Note that the co-evaporation method refers to an evaporationmethod in which evaporation is carried out from a plurality ofevaporation sources at the same time in one treatment chamber.

After that, PCzPA alone was deposited to a thickness of 30 nm by anevaporation method using resistance heating, thereby forming the secondlayer 412 including PCzPA, corresponding to the second organic compound.

Next, PCzPA andN,N-bis[4-(9-phenyl-9H-fluoren-9-yl)phenyl]-N,N′-diphenylpyrene-1,6-diamine(abbreviation: 1,6FLPAPrn) were co-evaporated to form the firstlight-emitting layer 421 including PCzPA corresponding to the thirdorganic compound and 1,6FLPAPrn corresponding to the firstlight-emitting substance which has a hole-trapping property with respectto PCzPA. The thickness of the first light-emitting layer 421 was 20 nm.The evaporation rate was controlled such that the weight ratio of PCzPAto 1,6FLPAPrn was 1:0.05 (=PCzPA:1,6FLPAPm).

Next, 9-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole (abbreviation:CzPA) and 1,6FLPAPrn were co-evaporated to form the secondlight-emitting layer 422 including CzPA corresponding to the fourthorganic compound and 1,6FLPAPrn corresponding to the secondlight-emitting substance which has a hole-trapping property with respectto CzPA. The thickness of the second light-emitting layer 422 was 25 nm.The evaporation rate was controlled such that the weight ratio of CzPAto 1,6FLPAPrn was 1:0.05 (=CzPA:1,6FLPAPrn).

As described in the above embodiment, the hole-transport skeletons ofPCzPA corresponding to the first, second, and third organic compoundsand CzPA corresponding to the fourth organic compound are eachanthracene. Further, the electron-transport skeletons of the compoundsare each anthracene. Still, PCzPA and CzPA are different compounds, andhence a bipolar heterojunction is formed between the firstlight-emitting layer 421 and the second light-emitting layer 422.

After that, tris(8-quinolinolato)aluminum (abbreviation: Alq) wasdeposited to a thickness of 10 nm and bathophenanthroline (abbreviation:BPhen) was deposited to a thickness of 15 nm to form theelectron-transport layer 413. Further, lithium fluoride was deposited toa thickness of 1 nm to form the electron-injection layer 414. Lastly, a200-nm-thick aluminum film was formed by an evaporation method usingresistance heating, whereby the cathode 402 was formed. Thus,Light-emitting Element 1 was fabricated.

(Reference Light-Emitting Element A)

For comparison, Reference Light-emitting Element A was fabricated withanother compound which replaces the organic compound (PCzPA) used forthe first layer 411 and the second layer 412 of Light-emitting Element1.

Reference Light-emitting Element A was fabricated as follows. First ofall, 4-phenyl-4′-(9-phenyl-9H-fluoren-9-yl)triphenylamine (abbreviation:BPAFLP) and molybdenum(VI) oxide were co-evaporated over the anode 401to form the first layer 411. The evaporation was performed usingresistance heating. The thickness of the first layer 411 was 50 nm. Theevaporation rate was controlled such that the weight ratio of BPAFLP tomolybdenum(VI) oxide was 1:0.5 (=BPAFLP:molybdenum(VI) oxide).

After that, BPAFLP alone was deposited to a thickness of 10 nm by anevaporation method using resistance heating, thereby forming the secondlayer 412.

Next, the same layer as the first light-emitting layer 421 ofLight-emitting Element 1 was formed. The second light-emitting layer 422was formed to be similar to that of Light-emitting Element 1 except thatthe thickness of the second light-emitting layer 422 was 30 nm insteadof 25 nm.

Furthermore, the electron-transport layer 413, the electron-injectionlayer 414, and the cathode 402 were the same as those of Light-emittingElement 1.

(Reference Light-Emitting Element B)

For comparison, Reference Light-emitting Element B was fabricatedwithout forming a layer corresponding to the second layer 412 ofLight-emitting Element 1.

Reference Light-emitting Element B was fabricated as follows. First, thefirst layer 411 was formed over the anode 401 to have the same structureas in Light-emitting Element 1. Next, without providing the second layer412, the first light-emitting layer 421 was formed to have the samestructure as in Light-emitting Element 1. The second light-emittinglayer 422 was formed to be similar to that of Light-emitting Element 1except that the thickness of the second light-emitting layer 422 was 30nm instead of 25 nm.

Furthermore, the electron-transport layer 413, the electron-injectionlayer 414, and the cathode 402 were the same as those of Light-emittingElement 1.

Table 1 below summarizes the element structures of Light-emittingElement 1 and Reference Light-emitting Elements A and B, which werefabricated.

TABLE 1 401 411 412 421 422 413 414 402 Light-emitting ITSO PCzPA: PCzPAPCzPA: CzPA: Alq Bphen LiF Al Element 1 110 nm MoOx 30 nm 1,6-FLPAPrn1,6-FLPAPrn 10 nm 15 nm 1 nm 200 nm (=1: 0.5) (=1: 0.05) (=1: 0.05) 50nm 20 nm 25 nm Reference ITSO BPAFLP: BPAFLP PCzPA: CzPA: Alq Bphen LiFAl Light-emitting 110 nm MoOX 10 nm 1,6-FLPAPrn 1,6-FLPAPrn 10 nm 15 nm1 nm 200 nm Element A (=1: 0.5) (=1: 0.05) (=1: 0.05) 50 nm 20 nm 30 nmReference ITSO PCzPA: — PCzPA: CzPA: Alq Bphen LiF Al Light-emitting 110nm MoOx 1,6-FLPAPrn 1,6-FLPAPrn 10 nm 15 nm 1 nm 200 nm Element B (=1:0.5) (=1: 0.05) (=1: 0.05) 50 nm 20 nm 30 nm

(Evaluation of Elements)

Light-emitting Element 1 and Reference Light-emitting Elements A and Bwhich were obtained as above were sealed so that the elements were notexposed to atmospheric air in a glove box under a nitrogen atmosphere.Then, the operating characteristics of these light-emitting elementswere measured. Note that the measurement was carried out at roomtemperature (in an atmosphere kept at 25° C.).

FIG. 17A shows luminance vs. current efficiency characteristics ofLight-emitting Element 1 and Reference Light-emitting Elements A and B,FIG. 17B shows luminance vs. external quantum efficiencycharacteristics, and FIG. 18 shows voltage vs. luminancecharacteristics. FIG. 19 shows emission spectra when the elements weremade to emit light at a current density of 25 mA/cm².

Light-emitting Element 1 exhibited excellent characteristics when it wasmade to emit light at a luminance of 1000 cd/m²: a drive voltage of 4.6V, a current efficiency of 9.3 cd/A, an external quantum efficiency of7.5%, and a power efficiency of 6.3 [lm/W]. In particular, the value ofthe external quantum efficiency is extremely high such that conventionalfluorescent elements cannot achieve this value. FIG. 19 shows a sharpemission spectrum due to 1,6-FLPAPrn in Light-emitting Element 1; pureblue light with CIE chromaticity coordinates, (x, y)=(0.14, 0.18), wasemitted.

As for Reference Light-emitting Element A, the external quantumefficiency remains at the 5% level, and the emission efficiency is notso much high as Light-emitting element 1. Further, the drive voltage isfound to exceed that of Light-emitting Element 1. The current efficiencyis high, but this is because a shoulder peak appears on the longwavelength side as apparent from FIG. 19 and the color purity decreases(CIE chromaticity coordinates, (x, y)=(0.16, 0.25)).

The possible reason why Reference Light-emitting Element A is inferiorin drive voltage and emission efficiency to Light-emitting Element 1will be given below. The HOMO level of BPAFLP used for the first layer411 and the second layer 412 in Reference Light-emitting Element A is−5.51 eV according to CV measurement, while the HOMO level of PCzPA usedfor the first light-emitting layer in Light-emitting Element 1 is −5.79eV as described in Example 1. That is, there is a hole-injection barrierof nearly 0.3 eV between the second layer and the first light-emittinglayer. This might lead to the inferior characteristics.

On the other hand, Reference Light-emitting Element B exhibitsrelatively high external quantum efficiency and current efficiency in alow luminance region, but the efficiencies greatly decrease in a highluminance region. This may be because electrons pass to the anode sideto reduce recombination efficiency in the high luminance region.Therefore the second layer 412, in which a substance having ahole-trapping property is not added, plays an important role inLight-emitting Element 1.

Next, tests for Light-emitting Element 1 and Reference Light-emittingElements A and B were carried out in such a manner that the elementswere driven to continue emitting light at a constant current of aninitial luminance of 1000 cd/m². The results are shown in FIGS. 20A and20B. In FIGS. 20A and 20B, the vertical axis represents normalizedluminance with an initial luminance of 100% and the horizontal axisrepresents driving time. The horizontal axis (driving time) in FIG. 20Ais a log scale, and that in FIG. 20B is a linear scale.

FIGS. 20A and 20B demonstrate that Light-emitting Element 1 kept 92% ormore of the initial luminance even after 1000 hours and has a very longlifetime. On the other hand, Reference Light-emitting Element Adecreases in luminance to about 90% of the initial luminance afterdriving for about 200 hours. This might be affected by theabove-mentioned barrier to hole injection from BPAFLP to PCzPA. As canbe seen from FIG. 20B, Reference Light-emitting Element B does notgreatly deteriorate in the long term but has the problem of significantinitial deterioration.

The above results demonstrate that Light-emitting Element 1 which is oneembodiment of the present invention can achieve both very high emissionefficiency and a very long lifetime.

Here, accelerated tests for the luminance of Light-emitting Element 1were carried out to estimate the luminance half life at an initialluminance of 1000 cd/m². In the accelerated tests for the luminance,elements having the same structure as Light-emitting Element 1 weredriven at a constant current by setting the initial luminance to 3000cd/m², 5000 cd/m², 8000 cd/m², 10000 cd/m², 12000 cd/m², and 15000cd/m². Then, the luminance half life at each luminance was determined,and from the correlation plot between initial luminance and luminancehalf life, the luminance half life at an initial luminance of 1000 cd/m²was estimated.

FIG. 21A shows the results of the accelerated tests for the luminance,and FIG. 21B the correlation plot between initial luminance andluminance half life. At an initial luminance of each of 3000 cd/m² and5000 cd/m², because the luminance was not reduced to half yet, adeterioration curve was extrapolated to estimate the luminance halflife. Table 2 below summarizes the results of the accelerated tests forthe luminance.

TABLE 2 Initial Luminance luminance half life (cd/m²) (Hr)  3,000 6,500* 5,000 2,600*  8,000 1,222 10,000   783 12,000   589 15,000   417*extraolation value

The results in Table 2 are plotted as the correlation plot betweeninitial luminance and luminance half life in FIG. 21B. It is found thatthe luminance half life of Light-emitting Element 1 is inverselyproportional to the 1.7th power of the initial luminance to show astrong correlation. Further, from these results, the luminance half lifeat an initial luminance of 1000 cd/m² is estimated as 42000 hours, whichis indicative of a very long lifetime.

Example 3

Example 3 will provide descriptions of fabrication examples andcharacteristics of light-emitting elements which are embodiments of thepresent invention together with reference examples. Structural Formulaeof materials used in Example 3 are illustrated below. Note that thestructural formulae of materials also used in Example 2 are omitted.

To begin with, a method of fabricating the light-emitting element(Light-emitting Element 2) which is one embodiment of the presentinvention will be described. FIG. 5 illustrates the element structure.

(Light-Emitting Element 2)

First, a glass substrate, over which an indium tin oxide containingsilicon oxide (abbreviation: ITSO) film was formed to a thickness of 110nm as the anode 401, was prepared. The periphery of a surface of theITSO film was covered with a polyimide film so that a 2 mm squareportion of the surface was exposed. The electrode area was set to 2 mm×2mm. As a pretreatment for forming the light-emitting element over thissubstrate, the surface of the substrate was washed with water and bakedat 200° C. for one hour, and then a UV ozone treatment was performed for370 seconds. Then, the substrate was transferred into a vacuumevaporation apparatus where the pressure was reduced to about 10⁻⁵ Pa.In a heating chamber of the vacuum evaporation apparatus, baking wasperformed at 170° C. for 30 minutes in vacuum. After that, the substratewas cooled down for about 30 minutes.

Next, the glass substrate provided with the anode 401 was fixed to asubstrate holder provided in a film formation chamber of the vacuumevaporation apparatus such that the surface on which the anode 401 wasformed was faced downward.

Then, first of all,9-phenyl-3-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole (abbreviation:PCzPA) and molybdenum(VI) oxide were co-evaporated over the anode 401,thereby forming the first layer 411 in which molybdenum oxidecorresponding to the electron-accepting compound, was added to PCzPAcorresponding to the first organic compound. The evaporation wasperformed using resistance heating. The thickness of the first layer 411was 50 nm. The evaporation rate was controlled such that the weightratio of PCzPA to molybdenum(VI) oxide was 1:0.5 (=PCzPA:molybdenum(VI)oxide). Note that the co-evaporation method refers to an evaporationmethod in which evaporation is carried out from a plurality ofevaporation sources at the same time in one treatment chamber.

After that, 4-[3-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)phenyl]dibenzofuran(abbreviation: 2mPDBFPA-II) alone was deposited to a thickness of 50 nmby an evaporation method using resistance heating, whereby the secondlayer 412 including 2mPDBFPA-II, corresponding to the second organiccompound, was formed.

Next, 2mPDBFPA-II andN,N′-bis[4-(9-phenyl-9H-fluoren-9-yl)phenyl]-N,N′-diphenylpyrene-1,6-diamine(abbreviation: 1,6FLPAPm) were co-evaporated to form the firstlight-emitting layer 421 including 2mPDBFPA-II corresponding to thethird organic compound and 1,6FLPAPrn corresponding to the firstlight-emitting substance which has a hole-trapping property with respectto 2mPDBFPA-II. The thickness of the first light-emitting layer 421 was10 nm. The evaporation rate was controlled such that the weight ratio of2mPDBFPA-II to 1,6FLPAPm was 1:0.05 (=2mPDBFPA-II:1,6FLPAPrn).

Next, 9-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole (abbreviation:CzPA) and 1,6FLPAPrn were co-evaporated to form the secondlight-emitting layer 422 including CzPA corresponding to the fourthorganic compound and 1,6FLPAPrn corresponding to the secondlight-emitting substance which has a hole-trapping property with respectto CzPA. The thickness of the second light-emitting layer 422 was 25 nm.The evaporation rate was controlled such that the weight ratio of CzPAto 1,6FLPAPrn was 1:0.05 (=CzPA:1,6FLPAPrn).

As described in the above embodiment, the hole-transport skeletons ofPCzPA corresponding to the first organic compound, 2mPDBFPA-IIcorresponding to the second and third organic compounds, and CzPAcorresponding to the fourth organic compound are each anthracene.Further, the bipolar heterojunction is formed as in Example 2.

After that, 2-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]benzoxazole (abbreviation:PABOx) was deposited to a thickness of 10 nm and bathophenanthroline(abbreviation: BPhen) was deposited to a thickness of 15 nm to form theelectron-transport layer 413. Further, lithium fluoride was deposited toa thickness of 1 nm to form the electron-injection layer 414.

Lastly, a 200-nm-thick aluminum film was formed by an evaporation methodusing resistance heating, whereby the cathode 402 was formed. Thus,Light-emitting Element 2 was fabricated.

(Evaluation of Element)

Light-emitting Element 2 obtained as above was sealed so that theelement was not exposed to atmospheric air in a glove box under anitrogen atmosphere. Then, the operating characteristics ofLight-emitting Element 2 were measured. Note that the measurement wascarried out at room temperature (in an atmosphere kept at 25° C.).

FIG. 22A shows luminance vs. current efficiency characteristics ofLight-emitting Element 2, FIG. 22B shows luminance vs. external quantumefficiency characteristics, and FIG. 23 shows voltage vs. luminancecharacteristics. FIG. 24 shows an emission spectrum when the element wasmade to emit light at a current density of 25 mA/cm².

Light-emitting Element 2 exhibited excellent characteristics when it wasmade to emit light at a luminance of 1000 cd/m²: a drive voltage of 3.4V, a current efficiency of 11 cd/A, an external quantum efficiency of8.0%, and a power efficiency of 10 [lm/W]. In particular, the value ofthe external quantum efficiency is extremely high such that conventionalfluorescent elements cannot achieve this value. FIG. 24 shows a sharpemission spectrum due to 1,6-FLPAPrn in Light-emitting Element 2; bluelight with CIE chromaticity coordinates, (x, y)=(0.14, 0.21), wasemitted.

Next, tests for Light-emitting Element 2 were carried out in such amanner that the elements were driven to continue emitting light at aconstant current of an initial luminance of 5000 cd/m². The results areshown in FIG. 25. In FIG. 25, the vertical axis represents normalizedluminance with an initial luminance of 100% and the horizontal axisrepresents driving time. The horizontal axis (driving time) is a linearscale.

From FIG. 25, the luminance half life of Light-emitting Element 2 at aninitial luminance of 5000 cd/m² is estimated as 2500 hours or more. Thisis substantially equal to the luminance half life of Light-emittingElement 1 at an initial luminance of 5000 cd/m² which is described inExample 2. Consequently, with the same accelerating factor forluminance, the luminance half life of Light-emitting Element 2 at aninitial luminance of 1000 cd/m² is estimated as 40000 hours or more likeLight-emitting Element 1. Thus, Light-emitting Element 2 has anextremely long lifetime.

The above results demonstrate that Light-emitting Element 2 which is oneembodiment of the present invention can achieve both very high emissionefficiency and a very long lifetime. In particular, the element achievesa long lifetime while having a power efficiency exceeding 10 [ln/W], andis accordingly considered to have sufficient performance as alight-emitting component which emits blue light for lighting.

Example 4

Example 4 will provide descriptions of fabrication examples andcharacteristics of light-emitting elements which are embodiments of thepresent invention together with reference examples. Note that thestructural formulae of materials also used in Examples 2 and 3 areomitted.

To begin with, a method of fabricating the light-emitting element(Light-emitting Element 3) which is one embodiment of the presentinvention will be described. FIG. 3 illustrates the element structure.

(Light-Emitting Element 3)

First, a glass substrate, over which an indium tin oxide containingsilicon oxide (abbreviation: ITSO) film was formed to a thickness of 110nm as the anode 101, was prepared. The periphery of a surface of theITSO film was covered with a polyimide film so that a 2 mm squareportion of the surface was exposed. The electrode area was set to 2 mm×2mm. As a pretreatment for forming the light-emitting element over thissubstrate, the surface of the substrate was washed with water and bakedat 200° C. for one hour, and then a UV ozone treatment was performed for370 seconds. Then, the substrate was transferred into a vacuumevaporation apparatus where the pressure was reduced to about 10⁻⁵ Pa.In a heating chamber of the vacuum evaporation apparatus, baking wasperformed at 170° C. for 30 minutes in vacuum. After that, the substratewas cooled down for about 30 minutes.

Next, the glass substrate provided with the anode 101 was fixed to asubstrate holder provided in a film formation chamber of the vacuumevaporation apparatus such that the surface on which the anode 101 wasformed was faced downward.

Then, first of all,9-phenyl-3-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole (abbreviation:PCzPA) and molybdenum(VI) oxide were co-evaporated over the anode 101,thereby forming the first layer 111 in which molybdenum oxidecorresponding to the electron-accepting compound, was added to PCzPAcorresponding to the first organic compound. The evaporation wasperformed using resistance heating. The thickness of the first layer 111was 70 nm. The evaporation rate was controlled such that the weightratio of PCzPA to molybdenum(VI) oxide was 1:0.5 (=PCzPA:molybdenum(VI)oxide). Note that the co-evaporation method refers to an evaporationmethod in which evaporation is carried out from a plurality ofevaporation sources at the same time in one treatment chamber.

After that, PCzPA alone was deposited to a thickness of 30 nm by anevaporation method using resistance heating, whereby the second layer112 including PCzPA, corresponding to the second organic compound, wasformed.

Next, 9-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole (abbreviation:CzPA) andN,N′-bis[4-(9-phenyl-9H-fluoren-9-yl)phenyl]-N,N′-diphenylpyrene-1,6-diamine(abbreviation: 1,6FLPAPm) were co-evaporated to form the light-emittinglayer 121 including CzPA corresponding to the third organic compound and1,6FLPAPrn corresponding to the light-emitting substance which has ahole-trapping property with respect to CzPA. The thickness of thelight-emitting layer 121 was 20 nm. The evaporation rate was controlledsuch that the weight ratio of CzPA to 1,6FLPAPrn was 1:0.05(=CzPA:1,6FLPAPm).

As described in the above embodiment, the hole-transport skeletons ofPCzPA corresponding to the first and second organic compounds and CzPAcorresponding to the third organic compound are each anthracene.Further, the bipolar heterojunction is formed as in Examples 2 and 3.

After that, CzPA was deposited to a thickness of 10 nm andbathophenanthroline (abbreviation: BPhen) was deposited to a thicknessof 15 nm to form the electron-transport layer 113. Further, lithiumfluoride was deposited to a thickness of 1 nm to form theelectron-injection layer 114.

Lastly, a 200-mu-thick aluminum film was formed by an evaporation methodusing resistance heating, whereby the cathode 102 was formed. Thus,Light-emitting Element 3 was fabricated.

(Evaluation of Element)

Light-emitting Element 3 obtained as above was sealed so that theelement was not exposed to atmospheric air in a glove box under anitrogen atmosphere. Then, the operating characteristics ofLight-emitting Element 3 were measured. Note that the measurement wascarried out at room temperature (in an atmosphere kept at 25° C.).

FIG. 32 shows luminance vs. current efficiency characteristics andexternal quantum efficiency characteristics of Light-emitting Element 3,and FIG. 33 shows voltage vs. luminance characteristics. FIG. 34 showsan emission spectrum when the element was made to emit light at acurrent density of 25 mA/cm².

Light-emitting Element 3 exhibited excellent characteristics when it wasmade to emit light at a luminance of 1000 cd/m²: a drive voltage of 3.1V, a current efficiency of 12 cd/A, an external quantum efficiency of10.0%, and a power efficiency of 13 [lm/W]. In particular, the value ofthe external quantum efficiency is extremely high such that conventionalfluorescent elements cannot achieve this value. According to FIG. 34, asthe emission spectrum of Light-emitting Element 3, a sharp spectrum witha peak at 467 nm was obtained; blue light with CIE chromaticitycoordinates, (x, y)=(0.14, 0.17), was emitted.

Next, drive tests were carried out at a constant current of an initialluminance of 5000 cd/m², whereby the luminance half life was 810 hours.Since the results in Examples 2 and 3 show that the luminance half lifeis inversely proportional to the 1.7th power of the initial luminance,the luminance half life at an initial luminance of 1000 cd/m² iscalculated at 12000 hours.

The above results demonstrate that Light-emitting Element 3 which is oneembodiment of the present invention can achieve an extremely low drivevoltage, very high emission efficiency, and a very long lifetime. Inparticular, the element achieves a long lifetime while having a powerefficiency exceeding 10 [lm/W], and is accordingly considered to havesufficient performance as a light-emitting component which emits bluelight for lighting.

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application serial no.2009-273987 filed with the Japan Patent Office on Dec. 1, 2009, theentire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

1. (canceled)
 2. A light-emitting device comprising: a first layer, asecond layer, a third layer, and a light-emitting layer, which arebetween an anode and a cathode, wherein the first layer is between theanode and the second layer, wherein the second layer is between thefirst layer and the third layer, wherein the third layer is between thesecond layer and the light-emitting layer, wherein the light-emittinglayer is between the third layer and the cathode, wherein the firstlayer comprises an electron-accepting compound, wherein the second layercomprises a first organic compound, wherein the third layer comprises asecond organic compound, wherein the light-emitting layer comprises athird organic compound and an aromatic amine compound, wherein the firstorganic compound differs from the second organic compound, and whereinthe first organic compound, the second organic compound, and the thirdorganic compound each separately comprises a skeleton of at least anyone of a π-excessive heteroaromatic ring, a tricyclic condensed aromatichydrocarbon ring, and a tetracyclic condensed aromatic hydrocarbon ring.3. A light-emitting device comprising: a first layer, a second layer, athird layer, and a light-emitting layer, which are between an anode anda cathode, wherein the first layer is between the anode and the secondlayer, wherein the second layer is between the first layer and the thirdlayer, wherein the third layer is between the second layer and thelight-emitting layer, wherein the light-emitting layer is between thethird layer and the cathode, wherein the first layer comprises anelectron-accepting compound, wherein the second layer comprises a firstorganic compound, wherein the third layer comprises a second organiccompound, wherein the light-emitting layer comprises a third organiccompound and a light-emitting substance having a hole-trapping propertywith respect to the third organic compound, wherein the first organiccompound differs from the second organic compound, and wherein the firstorganic compound, the second organic compound, and the third organiccompound each separately comprises a skeleton of at least any one of aπ-excessive heteroaromatic ring, a tricyclic condensed aromatichydrocarbon ring, and a tetracyclic condensed aromatic hydrocarbon ring.4. A light-emitting device comprising: a first layer, a second layer, athird layer, and a light-emitting layer, which are between an anode anda cathode, wherein the first layer is between the anode and the secondlayer, wherein the second layer is between the first layer and the thirdlayer, wherein the third layer is between the second layer and thelight-emitting layer, wherein the light-emitting layer is between thethird layer and the cathode, wherein the first layer comprises a firstorganic compound, wherein the second layer comprises a second organiccompound, wherein the third layer comprises a third organic compound,wherein the light-emitting layer comprises a fourth organic compound anda light-emitting substance, wherein a HOMO level of the light-emittingsubstance is higher than a HOMO level of the fourth organic compound by0.3 eV or more, wherein the first organic compound comprises a cyanogroup or a fluoro group, wherein the second organic compound differsfrom the third organic compound, and wherein the second organiccompound, the third organic compound, and the fourth organic compoundeach separately comprises a skeleton of at least any one of aπ-excessive heteroaromatic ring, a tricyclic condensed aromatichydrocarbon ring, and a tetracyclic condensed aromatic hydrocarbon ring.5. The light-emitting device according to claim 2, wherein a HOMO levelof the aromatic amine compound is higher than a HOMO level of the thirdorganic compound by 0.3 eV or more.
 6. The light-emitting deviceaccording to claim 5, wherein the aromatic amine compound is a pyrenediamine compound.
 7. The light-emitting device according to claim 3,wherein a HOMO level of the light-emitting substance is higher than aHOMO level of the third organic compound by 0.3 eV or more.
 8. Thelight-emitting device according to claim 2, wherein the first organiccompound, the second organic compound, and the third organic compoundeach separately comprises a skeleton of at least any one of carbazole,dibenzofuran, dibenzothiophene, and anthracene.
 9. The light-emittingdevice according to claim 3, wherein the first organic compound, thesecond organic compound, and the third organic compound each separatelycomprises a skeleton of at least any one of carbazole, dibenzofuran,dibenzothiophene, and anthracene.
 10. The light-emitting deviceaccording to claim 4, wherein the second organic compound, the thirdorganic compound, and the fourth organic compound each separatelycomprises a skeleton of at least any one of carbazole, dibenzofuran,dibenzothiophene, and anthracene.
 11. The light-emitting deviceaccording to claim 2, wherein the third organic compound comprises ananthracene skeleton.
 12. The light-emitting device according to claim 3,wherein the third organic compound comprises an anthracene skeleton. 13.The light-emitting device according to claim 4, wherein the fourthorganic compound comprises an anthracene skeleton.
 14. Thelight-emitting device according to claim 4, wherein the light-emittingsubstance is an aromatic amine compound.
 15. The light-emitting deviceaccording to claim 2, wherein the third layer is in contact with thesecond layer and the light-emitting layer.
 16. The light-emitting deviceaccording to claim 3, wherein the third layer is in contact with thesecond layer and the light-emitting layer.
 17. The light-emitting deviceaccording to claim 4, wherein the third layer is in contact with thesecond layer and the light-emitting layer.
 18. An electronic devicecomprising a display portion having the light-emitting device accordingto claim
 2. 19. An electronic device comprising a display portion havingthe light-emitting device according to claim
 3. 20. An electronic devicecomprising a display portion having the light-emitting device accordingto claim 4.